Background For the Las Vegas Shooting Lawsuits.

On the night of October 1, 2017, the unthinkable happened. A lone gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, unleashing chaos on the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival below. The result was one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history:

  • 60 lives lost
  • More than 400 wounded
  • Thousands traumatized

As the news broke across every television screen in the country, Jacob Malherbe watched the tragedy unfold and immediately knew: the victims would need help, fast.

But there was a problem.

Unlike most injury or mass tort cases, traditional legal doctrine didn’t offer a clear path for justice:

  • How could anyone argue that the hotel should have reasonably foreseen such an unprecedented act?
  • Could security protocols be blamed for someone sneaking firearms into a room using ordinary luggage?
  • Many lawyers, citing textbook liability principles, refused to take on the case.

“Almost every lawyer I knew said, ‘There’s no case here. It’s tragic, but the law doesn’t allow us to help.’” – Jacob Malherbe

But Jacob refused to accept “no” as the final answer.

The Strategy: Appeal to Humanity, Not Just Law

Rather than chase a near-impossible legal theory, Jacob looked at the situation through a community lens:

  • The victims were mostly local Las Vegas residents and workers.
  • The casinos were local too, deeply tied to the city’s reputation and economy.
  • It wasn’t just a legal question. It was a moral one.

Jacob approached several attorneys and proposed a new theory of resolution:

“This won’t be about what the law allows it will be about what decency demands. These casinos will settle, not because they have to, but because they should.”

While skeptical, a handful of trusted attorneys followed Jacob’s lead and launched a grassroots effort to sign up victims with no guarantees. Here are the results Mass Tort Ad Agency produced.

Results

Persistence paid off:

  • 500 clients were signed by Jacob’s campaign a remarkable show of faith given the legal uncertainty.
  • In the end, 4,000 victims came forward.
  • The case resulted in a landmark $800 million settlement.

What was once considered legally impossible became a moment of corporate accountability and community healing.

Reflection

“Sometimes, it’s not the law that gets you there it’s the decency of the defense to do the right thing in catastrophic cases. Even if we hadn’t won a settlement, letting victims know someone was fighting for them… that alone was worth everything.” Jacob Malherbe

This case wasn’t about winning in court. It was about restoring dignity, offering hope, and reminding the world that even in the darkest moments, there are people who care enough to try.

Conclusion

The Las Vegas shooting campaign is a defining example of how bold thinking, moral clarity, and human empathy can open doors where the law seems shut. Jacob Malherbe’s approach helped bring resolution not only to the victims, but also to a city struggling to make sense of an unimaginable tragedy.