PHOENIX - Cinemark continues to face backlash over its latest legal move regarding the 2012 Colorado movie theater shooting.
The movie theater chain is asking for the victims and surviving family members to pay $700,000 in legal fees after a failed lawsuit.
While the move is completely legal, a Valley father who lost his son in the attack said that doesn’t mean it’s moral.
“It’s just enough. Enough. How much can we take?”
That’s the reaction Tom Teves had after hearing the news that he and his wife could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars to Cinemark theaters.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said.
It’s been nearly four years since Teve’s son, Alex, who was from Ahwatukee, was killed along with 12 others inside a Century Theater in Aurora, Colorado. More than 70 others were injured.
In May, a civil jury ruled against the victims and families, finding the chain couldn’t have done more to prevent what happened.
But when news came out that Cinemark was asking them to pay back its $700,000 in legal fees, a firestorm broke out on the internet. Many called for a boycott of Cinemark’s theaters this holiday weekend.
“From a legal and corporate strategy standpoint, Cinemark may have decided that they want to discourage future lawsuits against their chain for personal injuries. The question is, how big is going to be the backlash that the public chooses to impose on what appears to be a corporate bully?” said legal analyst Scott Robinson.
Teves said he joined the lawsuit because Cinemark refused to speak with him or answer any questions regarding security.
Now, he says he’s simply in shock a company so powerful and profitable would go after people who have already lost so much.
“It doesn’t go away. Alex is still dead. It hurts everyday,” he said.
12 News reached out to Cinemark for comment, but they have yet to respond.