Judge denies request to add Santa Fe ISD to lawsuit

GALVESTON, Texas – On Wednesday, the judge handling the Santa Fe civil lawsuit against the parents of accused gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis denied the defense’s request to name Santa Fe ISD as a responsible third party in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit against Dimitrios’ parents, Antonios and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, stemmed from the tragic 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, where Pagourtzis allegedly opened fire, killing 10 people and injuring several others. While Pagourtzis was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial, the victims’ families are now trying to hold his parents accountable for their son’s actions.

During the trial, which was closely covered by KPRC 2, the courtroom heard emotional testimony from the victims’ families, who argued that the Pagourtz parents should be held responsible for the shooting along with their son.

Attorneys for Dimitrios’ parents, Antonios and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, said Santa Fe ISD should be included as a responsible third party in the lawsuit, arguing the school district shares some of the blame for the tragedy.

The defense argued that Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who could be tried as an adult at 17, took deliberate steps to hide his intentions from his parents and that his parents had no legal obligation to restrict his access to firearms after he turned 17 years old. filed a motion to dismiss the charge of negligent entrustment to the parents, which the judge granted, noting that the plaintiffs did not pursue this motion during the trial.

But the judge acknowledged that there was enough evidence of negligent storage of the firearms to allow the trial to proceed. The plaintiffs contested the defense’s motion citing case law that supports holding parents liable for failing to prevent their children from causing harm, even if those children are approaching adulthood.

On Tuesday, the plaintiffs responded to the request:

On Wednesday, the judge responded by denying the motion to hold Santa Fe ISD responsible for the shooting.

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