10th Circuit Bars Wrongful-Death Lawsuits Against Club Q Over 2022 Shooting

In a Wednesday opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of all remaining federal claims by survivors and families of the 2022 Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs. The panel ruled that under the Colorado Premises Liability Act, plaintiffs cannot pursue negligence or wrongful-death suits because the act bars such claims when the primary cause was the unforeseeable mass shooting. The court also rejected lawsuits against El Paso County and former Sheriff Bill Elder, determining that the county’s refusal to enforce the state’s Red Flag Law constituted mere negligence, not actionable conduct.

Plaintiffs had cited the club’s single unlicensed security guard, lack of metal detectors, and prior threatening calls, but the judges held that these security shortcomings did not play a more substantial role than the shooter’s actions. The decision mirrors a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that absolved Planned Parenthood in a similar mass-shooting case. Neither side responded to requests for comment.