Lawsuit Filed by Families of Newtown Shooting Victims Dismissed by Connecticut Judge
The defendants successfully argued they were shielded from liability.
— -- A Connecticut judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the families of those killed in the Newtown Elementary School mass shooting against the maker of the Bushmaster assault-style rifle Adam Lanza used in the massacre.
The defense for Remington Arms Company, LLC, argued the company was shielded from liability by a federal law known as The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which protects firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products.
Jim Vogts, an attorney with Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP, who defended Remington, said that the company "is pleased with the court’s decision to strike the plaintiffs’ complaint.”
The lawsuit was filed by the families of 10 victims of the Sandy Hook mass shooting in January of 2015. The defense will now have 15 days to attempt to make this decision final before the families can attempt to appeal it to the Supreme Court. That process could take roughly a month to complete.
Judge Barbara Bellis wrote in her ruling that the plaintiffs “seek damages for harms, including the deaths of the plaintiffs’ decedents, that were caused solely by the criminal misuse of a weapon by Adam Lanza. Accordingly, this action falls squarely within the broad immunity provided by PLCAA."
Remington filed the motion to dismiss the case several months prior to this ruling.