The owner of a hotel in which Los Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock stayed during his deadly rampage last year, has filed suit against more than 1,000 of his victims in an attempt to avoid liability.

MGM Resorts International filed suit in Nevada and California this week against victims of the 2017 mass shooting – the deadliest in US history. The lawsuit argues that MGM cannot be held responsible for deaths, injuries, or other damages stemming from the shooting, and says all claims against the company “must be dismissed”, according to local reports.

The suit does not seek compensation from victims, but seeks to prevent future lawsuits against the company from moving forward, the Las Vegas Review Journal reported.

“Years of drawn out litigation and hearings are not in the best interest of victims, the community and those still healing,” MGM spokeswoman Debra DeShong said in a statement.

MGM owns the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where Mr Paddock stayed during the shooting, as well as the Route 91 Harvest Festival, where the shooting occurred.

Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 800 were injured in the shooting last October, when police say Mr Paddock opened fire from his 32nd-floor suite with weapons he had stockpiled over the course of a week.

Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting – in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

More than 450 victims of the shooting sued MGM last November, alleging negligence on the hotel's part. At least four other lawsuits have been filed against the company by victims who were injured at the concert, or by family members of the deceased, according to Reuters.

MGM’s lawsuit cites the 2002 SAFETY Act, which protects companies that deploy certain security technologies from being held liable for claims related to an act of terrorism. The company claims it cannot be held liable because it employed a security contractor that had been certified by the Department of Homeland Security for “protecting against and responding to acts of mass injury and destruction”.