$600 Million Suit Filed Against Makers of "Grand Theft Auto"

By Mark Hoerrner

Jack Thompson is the "go-to" attorney when it comes to violence in video games. Representing the families of three murder victims killed by teen Cody Posey, he’s initiated a $600 million lawsuit against Sony Entertainment, Take Two Interactive and Rockstar Games, the makers of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The suit claims the game’s fantasy violence was instrumental in Posey’s actions and accuses the teen of playing the game "obsessively."

Posey was just 14 when he shot his father, stepmother and stepsister in July 2004, the Associated Press reported. He’s now a ward of the state of New Mexico until he turns 21. At the time of the trial, Posey’s attorney’s characterized him as a youth who had been abused by his father for years.

"But for Posey's use of these products ... he would not have killed," the lawsuit reads.

Thompson’s brief argues that the game taught Posey "how to point and shoot a gun in a fashion making him an extraordinarily effective killer without teaching him any of the constraints or responsibilities needed to inhibit such a killing capacity."

The makers of Grand Theft Auto disagree.

"We believe the suit is without merit and we will strongly defend the company," Take-Two spokesman Jim Ankner told the Associated Press.

This is not the first suit in which Thompson has attacked Sony, Take Two and Rockstar. He was also the attorney representing clients in a 2005 case in Alabama where Devin Moore, now on death row, was convicted of killing two police officers and a police dispatcher. Moore was said to be a regular player of the game Grand Theft Auto. That case also sought a $600 million judgment. Judge James Moore removed Thompson from the Alabama case citing his use of press releases and other media to sway public opinion as detracting from the case

In 2003, Thompson had also gone after the three companies and included Wal-Mart in the culpability for the sale of Grand Theft Auto after two stepbrothers had plead guilty to murder, reckless endangerment and assault.

In all three cases, Thompson alleged that the makers of the Grand Theft Auto series should have been aware that the games which feature graphic violence, the slaying of law enforcement officers and sexual content, might cause violence in teens.

"The American Psychological Association in August of 2005 issued a blockbuster report which says that there is a direct causal link between interactive gameplay of violent games and real world violence in adolescents and teenagers," Thompson said in an interview earlier this year.

Thompson has been colorful in his characterization of the gaming industry, going so far as to accuse Sony Entertainment of creating a second "Pearl Harbor" through the manufacture and distribution of violent video games. Thompson was quoted in a Denver Post article where he debated that video games were protected under the first amendment.

"Murder simulators are not constitutionally protected speech," he told the Post. "They’re not even speech. They’re dangerous physical appliances that teach a kid how to kill efficiently and to love it."

To date, however, Thompson has been patently unsuccessful in pursuing this angle on video games. Though he’s attempted to assist in several suits and filed suits on behalf of clients such as Verlin Posey, his enthusiasm for the cause is often overshadowed by his circus-like performances that have yet to impress judge or jury.