Both sides in VT lawsuit plan appeals

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - Both sides plan appeals in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.

The Roanoke Times says the plaintiffs and the state have filed formal notices of appeal to the Virginia Supreme in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Neither side gave a reason for their appeal.

The lawsuit was filed by two families who said their daughters could have survived if the university alerted the campus earlier. The state was the only defendant taken to court.

In June, a judge upheld a jury's negligence finding against the state. But the damages were sharply reduced.

Thirty-three people died during the April 16, 2007, shooting rampage on the Blacksburg campus, including the gunman, who killed himself. It was the deadliest in modern U.S. history.