U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Nine plaintiffs in a long-running lawsuit against Remington Arms Co. LLC and Remington Outdoors Co. Inc., over the Sandy Hook tragedy in 2012 are reportedly considering “their next steps” following an offer of almost $33 million—coming to $3.66 million per each plaintiff—according to court documents filed this week in Waterbury Superior Court.
A trial is expected to begin in several weeks, with jury selection reportedly beginning in September, NPR reported.
According to CNN and other news agencies, attorneys representing the Sandy Hook victims’ families said their clients will “consider their next steps” in a statement.
In February, according to Reuters, lawyers for the plaintiffs filed papers in court estimating the wrongful death claims could total more than $225 million and might reach above $1 billion.
Remington has already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Sandy Hook lawsuit was filed in 2014.
In December 2012, killer Adam Lanza murdered his mother, who had legally purchased guns used in the attack that left 20 schoolchildren and six adults dead, before driving to the school. She had apparently complied with all Connecticut requirements at the time.
Lanza used a Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle in the shooting. Rather than be taken alive, he committed suicide when police began arriving. His mother’s body was discovered later.
Two years ago, Remington argued that it should be protected by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, passed by Congress in 2005 to prevent what the firearms industry considers “junk lawsuits” aimed at bankrupting gun makers. But in 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the lawsuit to move forward, CNN recalled in its report.
The news agency said the plaintiffs’ attorneys took a different tack, claiming the company’s “marketing strategy” is at fault.
Following the Sandy Hook tragedy, the National Rifle Association made headlines by recommending armed school security in U.S. public schools. While the gun control lobby, the media, and liberals in Congress, along with many public school officials, dismissed the recommendation, over the next few years, several schools quietly moved in that direction. Some hired off-duty police officers and in other cases, police or sheriffs’ departments assigned “school resource officers” to schools in their jurisdictions.
A third option, which was also done quietly in many cases, was to allow teacher volunteers to take training in the use of firearms and have guns on campus to protect against such attacks.
Meanwhile, families of the victims contended Remington should not be selling such firearms as the Bushmaster to private citizens. Some estimates run as high as 20 million semi-auto modern sporting rifles being in private hands, which makes the AR-15 the most popular rifle in America today.
Owners of such firearms use them for a variety of purposes including competition, recreational shooting, home defense, varmint and predator hunting and control. Many competitive shooters own more than one such rifle.
While anti-gunners claim them to be “weapons of war” that should be banned, FBI Uniform Crime statistics published annually reveal consistently that rifles of any kind, including AR-15-type guns, are used in a fraction of all homicides in any given year. More people are murdered annually with blunt instruments and various cutting instruments—primarily knives—than are killed with rifles.
There is no small irony in the fact that the National Shooting Sports Foundation is headquartered in Newtown, Connecticut where Sandy Hook Elementary was also located.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
I read an article some time ago that stated that, more people in this country died in one year from inserting various things in their Anus’s then rifles of all kinds did in 5 years.
maybe they should ban that practice!
This is where the entire gun community, Manufacturers, retailers, gun organizations, recreational users, professional users, gunsmiths, ammo companies, and the thousands of Americans working in the firearms industry, to come together in a United Front of support for Remington, for it is all of the above that stand to lose if Remington caves to the Communist Left.
Where are all the Sugar Daddies, like Bloomberg, that will contribute funds to fight the likes of this ?
This is a test case that should be pursued to the highest level and Remington should not be standing alone.
The real issue is destruction of the firearms industry and disarmament. This suit is only a step. The state of CT is the stronghold of the Communist Party USA. After learning this, It makes me question me question why the shooting happened. It was either a setup or a golden opportunity. It has destroyed one if the oldest, finest firearms manufacturers in the country. And all because some crazed wacko killed his mother, stole her guns, and went in a rampage. the suit should never have been allowed. Their advertising did not cause this crime and Remington is not liable… Read more »
Why scotus allowed the case? Is Remington guilty? doesn’t make sense..
And this is exactly why the supporters of the 2nd Amendment are doomed to failure!
The complete lack of backbone by Corporate America to stand up for there rights, along with the sniveling , groveling politicians that enable the Radical Left to intimidate them. Cowards !!!
The precident this sets will bankrupt many American companies . All the major automobile manufacturers better look out because they can now be held accountable for the actions of a drunk driver that’s behind the wheel of thier automobile brand under these courts new rules. The one’s who need sued are the courts who put the criminals back on the street to break more laws without any serious consequences.