A Blueprint for Suing Gun Makers Emerges
Summary
The gun maker Remington yesterday agreed to pay $73 million to settle a lawsuit by families of nine Sandy Hook shooting victims over the AR-15-style rifle used in the 2012 massacre. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, enacted in 2005 under President George W. Bush, has shielded manufacturers from being held liable for mass shootings. Following the families’ approach could be difficult: • None States have a patchwork of consumer protection laws like Connecticut’s: New York has adopted one, and California lawmakers have introduced another such bill. • None Gun industry executives also argue that the settlement was agreed to by insurers of Remington, which is bankrupt, and that solvent companies would mount more vigorous legal defenses. Potentially helping their case is Remington’s obligation in the settlement to release thousands of pages of internal company documents that, the Sandy Hook families contend, could reveal intent to aggressively market firearms to troubled young men like the one responsible for the 2012 shooting.