The Texas Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments over whether the owner of Allen Premium Outlets should be removed from a lawsuit brought against it by victims of a deadly 2023 shooting.
Families of several victims in the shooting sued Simon Property Group and its security contractor, Allied Universal Security Service, in 2024 for allegedly not keeping the property safe.
"We thank the Texas Supreme Court for the opportunity to address crucial matters of law and public safety that are raised by this case: Do mall owners who invite the public to gather and spend money at their malls have a legal duty to try to protect those mallgoers from the foreseeable threats posed by mass shooters?" Jeffrey B. Simon, a lawyer representing families of victims, told KERA in an email. "As we interpret their briefing, Simon Property Group LP, the mall owner, argues that only after there have been one or more mass shootings on a particular property does the mall owner have any legal duty to try to prevent subsequent ones or form a plan to protect the public when they occur."
The lawsuit first went before Dallas County District Judge Staci Williams. She struck down a motion from Simon Property Group to dismiss the suit. The company then appealed Williams' order to the Fifth District Court of Appeals, which upheld her decision.
Simon Property Group has denied any responsibility for the shooting and argues they can't be held responsible for the actions of Mauricio Garcia, the white supremacist mass shooter.
"Tragic as this deadly attack was, those who owned or controlled the Outlets have no responsibility, as a matter of law, for not preventing it," the company's lawyers wrote in their petition for an appeal.
Supreme Court oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 16.
Posts from Garcia's social media suggest he may have scouted out the mall weeks in advance to prepare for the shooting.
Victims' families claim Garcia took advantage of the mall's lack of security.
"Defendants contracted with a security service to provide a single unarmed, inexperienced, and untrained security guard with no communications or surveillance systems to patrol property that spans 611,000 square feet," the defense wrote in court documents.
Allied Universal Security Services has previously been accused of not properly training employees and failing citizens.
This is at least the third lawsuit brought against Simon Property Group and Allied Universal Security Services over shootings at Simon shopping centers. Among them are cases filed in 2024 on behalf of people injured and killed in a shooting at a Simon-owned mall in Greenwood, Indiana, in 2022, currently in front of the Indiana Supreme Court.
Simon Property Group has also filed a motion in Dallas County to transfer the case to Collin County, where the outlet malls are located. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for April 16.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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