Report: Shooting survivor plans to sue theater

A young man who survived Friday's shootings in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater is planning to file suit against Cinemark, TMZ reported Tuesday.

Torrence Brown Jr. was close friends with one of the 12 people killed in the attack, 18-year-old A.J. Boik. Neither of Brown's parents would confirm the planned lawsuits Tuesday afternoon, referring Yahoo News to Brown's lawyer, who didn't return requests for comment.

Attorney Don Karpel told TMZ the suit will allege that the Century 16 theater, which is owned by Cinemark, was negligent for not having the exit door guarded or equipped with an alarm that would sound when it opened. (Holmes reportedly left the theater via the exit door, propped it open, and re-entered with his weapons.) The suit also targets Warner Brothers, blaming their movie's violence for inspiring Holmes. Also named in the suit: suspect James Holmes' doctors, if they exist, for hypothetically not monitoring his hypothetical mental condition adequately.

[COMPLETE COVERAGE: Colorado theater shooting]

J.H. Verkerke, director of the University of Virginia Law School's Program for Employment and Labor Law, told Yahoo News that in general, it would be difficult to win a claim against a theater in this type of situation unless you could prove that the theater should have known about the threat and that its safety standards are below average compared to most movie theaters.

Cinemark declined to comment on the suit through a spokesman. The movie chain released a statement on Monday saying its leadership is "deeply saddened about this tragic incident. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and loved ones, our employees and the Aurora community."