A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit alleging negligence by owners of a Fat Shack restaurant in employing a shift supervisor who fatally shot a 19-year-old man.

The estate of the victim, Fernando Giffen-Vallejo, filed wrongful death and negligence claims Sept. 15 against FS Eugene LLC, the legal entity operating the Fat Shack at Patterson Street and 13th Avenue, near the University of Oregon.

Giffen-Vallejo died in March 2023 after a confrontation outside the restaurant. The lawsuit alleged Elijah Michael Pruitt, 20 at the time of the shooting, “regularly brought a loaded firearm to work in violation of safety norms” and also “had a known propensity for violence.”

The details of the settlement have not been disclosed. The lawsuit, according to court filings, sought up to $6 million in noneconomic damages and up to $4 million in damages related to medical and funeral expenses as well as lost future earnings.

“The parties resolved their differences,” Ryan R. Baker, an attorney representing the Giffen-Vallejo estate, said in an email Friday, April 3. Baker declined to comment further.

Lane County Circuit Court records show the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice March 23.

Pruitt, now 22, is being held in the Lane County Jail. He was convicted of second-degree murder, along with other charges. However, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed his conviction Aug. 20 and ordered a new criminal trial, which is scheduled for March 9, 2027.

The civil lawsuit alleged Pruitt told Giffen-Vallejo, a customer, to leave the restaurant after he “took out what appeared to be a nitrous oxide canister and inhaled it.”

Giffen-Vallejo later returned and a confrontation took place outside leading up to the shooting. 

The lawsuit alleged Pruitt “had been in the habit” of bringing a pistol to work “for several months because of repeated issues with unruly patrons.”