A nasty legal rift between the most seriously wounded survivor of the 2018 Parkland high school massacre and the families of some of the 17 murdered victims was settled Monday with all sides now owning an equal share of the killer’s publicity rights and an annuity he might receive.
Under an agreement signed by Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips, survivor Anthony Borges, the families of slain students Meadow Pollack, Luke Hoyer and Alaina Petty and fellow student survivor Maddy Wilford now control any attempt by shooter Nikolas Cruz to profit off his name or likeness or grant interviews. Each of the five parties has veto power.
They would also split a $400,000 annuity Cruz’s late mother left him, if he ever receives it. The victims’ families and Wilford have said they would donate their share to charities. Borges’ attorney, Alex Arreaza, has said his client needs the money for future medical expenses.
The settlement was reached one day before the sides had been scheduled to argue before Phillips over whether a June agreement that Borges, 21, and his parents had reached with Cruz should be thrown out. It would have given Borges ownership of Cruz’s name and image, approval over any interviews he might give and the annuity. Cruz shot the once-promising soccer star five times in the torso and legs and he nearly bled to death. He has undergone numerous surgeries.
Attorneys for Wilford, who was shot four times, and the families of Pollack, Hoyer and Petty had quickly countered with their own $190 million settlement with Cruz, which they concede they will never receive.
They said they had been blindsided by the Borges settlement, saying there had been a verbal agreement to work together in their lawsuit against Cruz. Other victim families and survivors had not chosen to be part of that lawsuit.
Read full story at The Associated Press.
