Family of boy thrown from 3rd-floor balcony settles lawsuit against MOA

(KSTP) – The family of the boy who was thrown from a third-floor balcony at Mall of America in 2019 has agreed to a settlement in its lawsuit against the mall.

Monday, attorneys for the family released the following statement announcing the confidential settlement.

“Mall of America and the family of the young boy who was thrown from a third-floor balcony by a criminal at the Mall in April 2019, are pleased to have reached a confidential settlement of the lawsuit. The boy’s recovery has been nothing short of miraculous and the focus remains on his health and wellbeing, which includes privacy during this time,” a joint statement from MOA and the family’s attorneys said. “Mall of America and the family have agreed to work together with a focus on safety, and already are jointly pursuing policy changes to existing trespass limits for violent criminals so as to give greater ability to preclude such persons from their premises. The Mall and the family will ask that any resulting change be named in honor of the young boy.”

Landen, who was 5 at the time of the incident, underwent dozens of surgeries and medical procedures, according to his family. Remarkably, he was released from the hospital and returned home four months later and was “walking perfectly” three months after that, according to the family’s updates.

A GoFundMe raised more than $1 million for his family.

The family was seeking monetary damages from the Mall of America and its ownership.

Emmanuel Aranda, the man who threw Landen from the balcony, later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. The lawsuit claims “the assailant never should have been allowed inside the mall that day,” and that he “should have been followed by security,” given the claim that mall security was familiar with the man due to alleged past incidents that resulted in bans from the mall.

Court documents show the lawsuit was settled last month. A jury trial had been scheduled to start at the end of October but was canceled earlier in the month.