Pulse victims, survivors to begin receiving money from OneOrlando fund Tuesday

ORLANDO, Fla. — Attorneys representing a Pulse nightclub shooting victim who survived the attack filed an emergency injunction on Friday, hoping to halt the distribution of $29 million that has been collected for Pulse victims. The attorneys said they have concerns with how the money is being handled.

The last-minute court filing could leave the families and survivors, whose lives forever changed after the Pulse tragedy more than three months ago, waiting even longer.

“We don't want to slow down this process, but by virtue of the way this protocol was set up, this was the only way to do it,” attorney Paul Zeniewicz said.

The attorneys said handing out the funds before an audit is a careless act.

The filing indicates they've seen some reports on money coming in and going out, but not a complete audit.

Mayor Buddy Dyer said a full audit is scheduled to take place after the disbursement, and the city brought in an expert to help determine how to hand the money out.

“It saddens me that someone would try to hold up disbursement to the victims,” said Dyer.

But the expert is the one the attorneys have an issue with. They said Kenneth Feinburg has been accused of improperly disbursing funds before.

“The fund administrator sits as the judge, jury and executioner,” said Zeniewicz.

The city said Feinburg only made recommendations to the board for distribution.

The board unanimously approved the final distribution plan of $29.5 million to 299 claimants Monday.

Claimants were separated into four categories: deceased, injured with hospitalization, injured with outpatient treatment and present inside Pulse.

The processing of payments will begin Tuesday and should be finished by Friday. Nearly 150,000 individuals and companies from more than 120 countries contributed to the OneOrlando Fund.

More information about the payouts is expected to be released Tuesday morning.

“That's the whole reason for this injunction is to make sure before the money is disbursed that the right people are getting the right money, and their rights are preserved,” said attorney Michael Grossman.

Zeniewicz and Grossman said that if money is handed out inappropriately, it will be nearly impossible to get the money back and that's why they're asking for all payouts to stop before they even start.

Cox Media Group