DENVER - A federal appeals court has ruled that parents of a teen killed in the Columbine High School shootings cannot back out of a settlement with the gunmen's parents and others.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling made available Thursday, rejected arguments by the lawyer for Michael and Vonda Shoels that the family accepted the settlement because of a mistake made at their lawyer's office.
The decision upheld an earlier order. The Shoelses' lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, said he had not yet read the ruling and had no comment.
Isaiah Shoels was among 12 students and a teacher killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in the shootings at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. The gunmen then took their own lives.
In 2001, the Harris and Klebold families agreed to pay about $1.6 million to more than two dozen families of victims and survivors, and the families agreed to drop lawsuits alleging the teens' parents let them amass weapons used in the massacre.
The Shoelses, who have moved out of state, have yet to claim their share.
"We hope this means the end of Columbine lawsuits and that the healing in the community continues," said Frank Patterson, attorney for the Klebolds.
An attorney for the Harrises was out of the office Thursday.