Editing Columbine High School massacre (section)

===Lawsuits===
After the massacre, many survivors and relatives of those killed filed lawsuits.<ref name=suit/> Under Colorado state law at the time, the maximum a family could receive in a lawsuit against a government agency was $600,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=600000|start_year=1999|r=-3|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/19991020-37-schoolma.html |title=School massacre spawns lawsuits |last=Weller |first=Robert |date=October 20, 1999 |work=[[U-T San Diego]] |access-date=October 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113152324/http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/metro/19991020-37-schoolma.html |archive-date=January 13, 2014 |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> Most cases against the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and school district were dismissed by the federal court on the grounds of government immunity.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-columbine-lawsuits-dismissed/ |title=Most Columbine Lawsuits Dismissed |date=November 27, 2001 |access-date=January 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021160011/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-columbine-lawsuits-dismissed/ |archive-date=October 21, 2014 |url-status=live |work=[[CBS News]]}}</ref> The case against the sheriff's office regarding the death of Dave Sanders was not dismissed due to the police preventing paramedics from going to his aid for hours after they knew the gunmen were dead. The case was settled out of court in August 2002 for $1,500,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2002/aug/21/sanders-settles-columbine-suit/ |title=Sanders settles Columbine suit |last1=Abbott |first1=Karen |date=August 21, 2002 |work=[[Rocky Mountain News]] |access-date=January 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140113110239/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2002/aug/21/sanders-settles-columbine-suit/ |archive-date=January 13, 2014 |last2=Able |first2=Charley}}</ref>

In April 2001, the families of more than 30 victims received a $2,538,000<!--source rounded figure to nearest ten-thousands--> settlement in their case against the families of Harris, Klebold, Manes, and Duran.<ref name=Settlement>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/20/us/2.53-million-deal-ends-some-columbine-lawsuits.html |title=$2.53 Million Deal Ends Some Columbine Lawsuits |last=Janofsky |first=Michael |date=April 20, 2001 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref> Under the terms of the settlement, the Harrises and the Klebolds contributed $1,568,000 through their homeowners' policies, with another $32,000 set aside for future claims; the Manes contributed $720,000, with another $80,000 set aside for future claims; and the Durans contributed $250,000, with an additional $50,000 available for future claims.<ref name=Settlement /> The family of victim Shoels rejected this settlement, but in June 2003 were ordered by a judge to accept a $366,000 settlement in their $250-million lawsuit against the shooters' families.<ref name=cnn-fast>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts/ |title=Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts |date=September 19, 2013 |access-date=April 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250425114806/http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts/ |archive-date=April 25, 2025 |url-status=live |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9905/27/columbine.lawsuit.02/ |title=$250&nbsp;million Columbine lawsuit filed |date=May 27, 1999 |access-date=January 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113142645/http://www.cnn.com/US/9905/27/columbine.lawsuit.02/ |archive-date=January 13, 2014 |url-status=live |publisher=CNN}}</ref> In August 2003, the families of victims Fleming, Kechter, Rohrbough, Townsend, and Velasquez received undisclosed settlements in a wrongful death suit against the Harrises and Klebolds.<ref name=cnn-fast />

Parents of some of the victims filed several unsuccessful lawsuits against film companies, over films such as ''The Basketball Diaries'', which includes a [[dream sequence]] with a student shooting his classmates in a trench coat.<ref name=dism/> In the Basement Tapes, they debate on whether or not [[Steven Spielberg]] or [[Quentin Tarantino]] are appropriate choices to direct films about the massacre.<ref name=tape2651/> Their home videos also show inspiration taken from ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''.<ref name="abaj">{{cite journal |date=September 1999 |title=When Privacy Results in Tragedy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzgaKM5QDA0C&pg=PA54 |journal=ABA Journal |page=54}}</ref> Both were fans of the film ''[[Lost Highway (film)|Lost Highway]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scribol.com/pop-culture/film/favorite-movies-most-evil-men-history/10 |title=These Are The Favorite Movies Of The Most Evil Men In History |date=September 6, 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ''[[Apocalypse Now]]'' was found in Harris's [[Videocassette recorder|VCR]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Kass|2009|p=221}}</ref>