(WWJ) An Oakland County judge has cleared the way for a possible payout by the Oxford School District to the victims of the November 2021 shooting.
Following the attack, the district sued its own insurance company to figure out how much they were responsible for paying to the victims.
Under an Oct. 30 ruling by Oakland County Circuit Judge Jacob Cunningham the Oxford school district would have up to $5 million to pay to each of the 11 victims who were shot, or an estimated total $55 million.
This ruling amounts to a loss for the the insurance company, which wanted a ruling where $5 million was the total amount of coverage, WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton explained.
The settlement is not guaranteed to the victims, and an appeal is expected.
"This ruling does not mean that there will be a settlement," Langton said, "but at least there is some clarity as to how much insurance coverage exists."
According to Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the victims and confirmed the ruling in an interview with WWJ, said the payout could get even bigger.
"There will be arguments made that the occurrences could certainly be more that just each shot, or the 11 different victims, if you will," Johnson said. "Because there are a lot of other kids who did not actually physically get shot, but clearly thought that they were going to die that day — which under Michigan law is, in fact, an injury."
The Oxford board of education issued a statement to the Detroit News, saying it's pleased with the judge's decision, adding: "We hope that this ruling paves the way for us to soon resolve this matter.
"At the end of the day, there are no winners here. Our thoughts remain with all the families impacted by the horrific events of November 30, 2021 and we remain committed to resolving the related legal disputes on behalf of our school community."
Former Oxford student Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty in 2023 to first degree murder, terrorism and other charges for the mass shooting that left four students dead and six more students and a teacher wounded.
Crumbley was sentenced to life in prison, without a chance for parole.
Separately, Crumbley's parents were both convicted of involuntary manslaughter, after prosecutors argued they ignored their son's mental health struggles, and instead bought him a 9mm handgun.
MORE: Will the Oxford High School shooter be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea?