The Las Vegas hotel where gunman Stephen Paddock fired onto a concert crowd last year is suing victims of the mass shooting.

Key points: MGM Resorts International has lodged a lawsuit against more than 1,000 victims

MGM Resorts International has lodged a lawsuit against more than 1,000 victims The company argued it has "no liability of any kind" to survivors or families of slain victims

The company argued it has "no liability of any kind" to survivors or families of slain victims Victims say the lawsuits are a "hypocritical manoeuvre" that will turn into a "public relations nightmare"

Last October, Paddock shattered the windows of his Mandalay Bay hotel suite and started shooting people below, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds.

MGM Resorts International, the parent company of the corporation that owns the hotel, has faced a number of lawsuits in the months since the shooting and has now lodged its own lawsuits, reportedly naming more than 1,000 victims.

Here's why MGM is suing and what it is arguing.

Sorry, this video has expired Video shows chaos outside Las Vegas concert as shooting unfolds.

The company argues in lawsuits filed in Nevada and California that it has "no liability of any kind" to survivors or families of slain victims under a federal law enacted in 2002.

The lawsuits target more than 1,000 victims, who have either sued the company and voluntarily dismissed their claims — which CNN reports was apparently with the intent of refiling them later — or have threatened to sue after the shooting.

What's this got to do with September 11 laws?

Paddock was staying at the Mandalay Bay resort before he opened fire at a music festival in Las Vegas. ( AP: Chris Carlson )

It's just one law specifically. MGM has pointed to a law enacted after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks for its lawsuit, the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act or SAFETY Act.

It limits liabilities when a company or group uses services certified by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and mass attacks occur.

According to the law, companies who provide security equipment or services during a terrorist attack can use the government contractor defence.

The company claims it falls under this law because of two reasons: its security vendor for the concert, Contemporary Services Corp, was federally certified at the time of the October 1 shooting and the incident was a mass shooting.

"If defendants were injured by Paddock's assault, as they allege, they were inevitably injured both because Paddock fired from his window and because they remained in the line of fire at the concert," according to the MGM lawsuits.

"Such claims inevitably implicate security at the concert — and may result in loss to CSC," according to the MGM lawsuits.

CSC's general counsel, James Service, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

But the incident hasn't been called a terrorist attack

Nope. Investigators have yet to declare a motive for last year's mass shooting.

However, CNN reports that the lawsuits say DHS officials and documents cited the shooting in emphasising the need to prevent terrorists from hitting soft targets such as concerts and sporting events.

It says the guns, bump stocks, high-capacity magazines, incendiary rounds and explosives found in the gunman's suite and van qualify as weapons intended to cause mass injury.

So, is MGM after compensation?

Sorry, this video has expired Leaked photos reveal interior of Stephen Paddock's hotel room.

Nope. A spokesperson for MGM told the BBC that it was not suing victims for any money.

"While we expected the litigation that followed, we also feel strongly that victims and the community should be able to recover and find resolution in a timely manner," MGM spokeswoman Debra DeShong said in a statement.

Instead, the company says it wants a court to declare that the US law "precludes any finding of liability" against MGM "for any claim for injuries arising out of or related to Paddock's mass attack".

What have the victims said?

Sorry, this video has expired MGM sues Las Vegas shooting victims

Brian Claypool, an attorney who was at the music festival during the shooting, called the lawsuits a "hypocritical manoeuvre" that will turn into a "public relations nightmare for MGM".

"We collectively view this as a bullying tactic to intimidate the survivors who are rightfully seeking social change and redress through the litigation process," Mr Claypool, who represents dozens of victims, said in a statement.

Attorney Robert Eglet, who also represents victims who have sued MGM, has described the company's move as "outrageous".

"MGM has done something that in over 30 years of practice is the most outrageous thing I have ever seen," Mr Eglet said.

"They have sued the families of victims while they're still grieving over their loved ones."

ABC/AP