Several Parkland families are taking school shooting survivor to court

FORT LAUDERDALE - Several Parkland families are taking a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting to court over the rights to the shooter's name and his money.

In June, Nikolas Cruz reached an agreement wherein he signed over the rights to his name and likeness to former student Anthony Borges, the most seriously wounded survivor. Cruz cannot give interviews without his permission. Borges also has the right to an annuity Cruz received before the killings that could be worth $400,000.

Attorney David Brill, who is representing the families in the civil case, is challenging that settlement, saying he had a verbal agreement with Borges' attorney that their clients would split any proceeds that might come from the annuity and donate it to charities of their choice. He also said Cruz didn't have the right to sign away his name or finances and Borges didn't have the right to take it without consulting the others, according to the Sun-Sentinel .

Cruz, 25, pleaded guilty in 2021 to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder. He is serving 34 consecutive life sentences at an undisclosed prison after avoiding a death sentence during a 2022 penalty trial.

Florida law already prohibits inmates from keeping any proceeds related to their crimes, including any writings or artwork they might produce in prison. But Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, when sentencing Cruz , also ordered that any money placed in his prison commissary account be seized to pay restitution to the victims and their families and all court and investigation costs.

In total, that would be tens of millions of dollars.

The families of most of the slain and some of the wounded previously settled lawsuits against the Broward County school district and the FBI for errors that allowed the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting to take place.

Borges was critically injured on the third floor of the building during the 2018 mass shooting. In 2021, he severed his case from the rest of the Parkland families. His lawyer argued that he was entitled to more consideration as a surviving victim facing a lifetime of medical and mental health bills. He also claimed that Borges's family does not have the same financial means as some of the other families who suffered in this tragedy.