Anthony Borges: Parkland Settlements and Family Dispute

Anthony Borges, the most gravely wounded survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, has reached three separate settlements arising from the massacre: a $1.25 million agreement with the Broward County Public School District, an undisclosed settlement with the FBI, and a 2024 civil settlement with the gunman himself that transferred the shooter’s name, likeness, insurance interests, and eventual remains to Borges rather than paying cash. Combined, the Parkland settlements involving Anthony Borges have produced recoveries exceeding $7 million from the school district and FBI, along with unusual non-monetary terms designed to keep the shooter from ever profiting from his notoriety.¹

Why Borges Sued

Borges was 15 when the gunman opened fire inside the 1200 Building on February 14, 2018. He used his body to block a classroom door, shielding roughly 20 classmates, and was shot five times in the legs, back, and torso. Surgeons removed a third of one lung. He underwent at least 11 surgeries, lost 45 pounds, and was left with a metal rod in his left thigh, a metal piece in his right leg, and an inability to move the toes on his left foot.² His attorney, Alex Arreaza, has said Borges has healed physically but continues to struggle with PTSD.³

The $1.25 Million Broward Schools Settlement

In 2021, the Broward County Public School District agreed to pay more than $25 million to families of those killed and to survivors. Borges’s share, finalized on December 14, 2021, was $1.25 million.⁴ His attorney negotiated separately after the families of those killed insisted that Borges, as a survivor, receive one dollar less than each of them to reflect the greater loss of a death. Arreaza had sought $5 million, arguing that figure was needed to cover a lifetime of medical care.⁵

The Separate FBI Settlement

In 2021, the U.S. government agreed to pay $127.5 million to resolve 40 civil cases brought by Parkland families and survivors against the FBI. The suits alleged the bureau had ignored tips warning that the shooter possessed weapons and intended to attack a school. The Department of Justice said the settlement was not an admission of fault.⁶ The Borges family reached its own separate agreement with the FBI outside the collective distribution. The amount was not publicly disclosed.⁷ Reporting by NBC Miami placed the Borges family’s combined recoveries from the school district and FBI at over $7 million out of roughly $150 million in total payouts from those two sources.¹

The 2024 Settlement With the Gunman

In June 2024, weeks before a scheduled civil trial, Borges reached a settlement directly with the shooter. It was negotiated on a Zoom call. The shooter no longer had legal representation and declined to have an attorney review the terms.³ There was no large cash judgment. The agreement had three key provisions:

The shooter transferred rights to his name and likeness to Borges for any media production, including books, films, and television, and was barred from granting interviews without Borges’s written consent.
The shooter assigned Borges any financial interest in insurance policies where he was a beneficiary, including a share of an annuity from his deceased adoptive mother valued at roughly $400,000 to $430,000.
The shooter agreed to donate his body, including his brain, to an institution of Borges’s choosing after his death for scientific study.

Arreaza described the goal as ensuring “complete accountability” and preventing the shooter from profiting from his story, functioning as a private version of “Son of Sam” laws. Because the terms were incorporated into a court-ordered settlement, a violation would allow Borges’s legal team to seek judicial enforcement.³

The Dispute With Other Families and the November 2024 Resolution

The Borges settlement immediately triggered a conflict. In late July 2024, the families of three slain students and another wounded survivor filed competing settlements with the shooter: $50 million each for the families of Luke Hoyer, Alaina Petty, and Meadow Pollack, and $40 million for survivor Maddy Wilford. Those agreements, negotiated by attorney David Brill, contained similar provisions transferring the shooter’s name and media rights.⁸ The shooter had effectively signed away overlapping rights to two different groups.

The dispute went before Broward County Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips, who likened it to a contested divorce. Brill argued the parties had a prior verbal agreement to act collectively and that state law stripped the shooter of publicity rights upon conviction, making the transfer to Borges void. Arreaza denied any verbal contract and said Borges needed the annuity money for ongoing medical care.⁹

On November 4, 2024, Judge Phillips signed an agreement resolving the dispute. All five parties — Borges, the Pollack family, the Hoyer family, the Petty family, and Wilford — now hold equal shares of the shooter’s publicity rights, and each has individual veto power over any attempt by him to profit from his name or give a media interview. The roughly $400,000 annuity, if ever distributed, will be split five ways. The other families and Wilford said they planned to donate their portions to charity; Arreaza said Borges intended to use his share for medical expenses.¹⁰

What Is Still Pending

Borges’s civil claims are not fully closed. Lawsuits against former school resource officer Scot Peterson and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office remain active. Peterson argued he had no legal duty to confront the gunman and that sovereign immunity shielded him; plaintiffs countered that he had an affirmative operational duty to engage the shooter.¹¹ On January 9, 2025, a three-judge panel of Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal rejected Peterson’s request for summary judgment, allowing the consolidated lawsuits to move toward trial. No trial date had been publicly scheduled as of early 2025.¹² Peterson was acquitted in 2023 of criminal charges arising from his conduct that day; the pending cases are civil.³

1
NBC Miami. Money Dispute Divides One Parkland School Shooting Victim From Others
2
CBS News Miami. Parkland Survivor Anthony Borges Focused on Recovery, Reviving Soccer Career
3
CNN. Parkland School Shooting Survivor Anthony Borges Reaches Settlement With Gunman
4
Campus Safety Magazine. Parkland Victims Families Settlement With Broward Schools
5
New York Post. Parkland School Shooting Survivor Anthony Borges Court Rift With Family of Dead
6
NPR. Families of Parkland Shooting Victims Awarded $127.5 Million
7
NBC Miami. Survivor of Parkland School Shooting Wins Ownership of Shooter’s Name in Lawsuit Settlement
8
Bay News 9. Parents of 3 Students Who Died in Parkland Massacre, Survivor Reach Large Settlement With Shooter
9
WLRN. Rift Between Parkland Massacre Survivor and Some Families of the Dead Erupts in Court
10
NBC Miami. Families Settle Court Battle Over Who Owns Parkland Killer’s Name and Likeness
11
Sun Sentinel. Parkland Families Civil Suits Against Ex-Deputy Scot Peterson Can Move Forward, Court Rules
12
NBC Miami. Civil Lawsuits May Continue Against Broward Deputy Accused of Inaction During Parkland School Shooting