Sandy Hook lawsuit sent back to state court
A U.S. District judge on Wednesday sent the wrongful death lawsuit brought by 10 families of Sandy Hook victims against Bushmaster Firearms back to state court.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by 10 Newtown families against Bushmaster Firearms has been sent from federal court back to state court, where it may have a better chance of succeeding.
U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny, in Hartford, returned the case to state court on Wednesday — a decision called an important victory by the families’ lawyers. Federal courts have consistently refused to hold gun manufacturers liable or permit lawsuits against gun manufacturers for injuries caused by third parties.
The lawsuit claims Bushmaster AR-15, the assault rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, is too dangerous to sell to the general public.
The gunmaker disputes the claims. Shortly after the families filed suit last year, its lawyers had the case moved to federal court.
In addition to Bushmaster, the defendants include firearm distributor Camfour, based in Massachusetts, and Riverview Gun Sales, the East Windsor store where gunman Adam Lanza’s mother legally purchased the rifle in 2010.
Bushmaster urged the court to find the plaintiffs’ claims against Riverview were meritless and Riverview had therefore been “fraudulently” named as a defendant in the case.
Removing Riverview from the lawsuit would mean none of the defendants are from Connecticut, and therefore, federal court was more appropriate, Bushmaster lawyers argued.
The district court’s ruling on Wednesday was an unequivocal rejection of that argument, said Josh Koskoff, an attorney for the families.
“All my clients seek is an opportunity to present their case to a Connecticut jury,” he said. “This ruling brings them one step closer to that goal. It is a major setback for the gun industry in their attempt to avoid responsibility for tragedies like Newtown.”
The families’ complaint further argues that Bushmaster, which is the nation’s largest supplier of civilian semiautomatic rifles, and the other defendants should be held accountable for their decision to entrust a highly lethal assault weapon to the general public without any of the safeguards that are present in the military or law enforcement.
Lanza, who had struggled with rage, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, took just 264 seconds to fire 154 bullets from the Bushmaster .223 he took from his mother's unlocked closet, according to the lawsuit.
“The AR-15 assault rifle was designed as a military weapon,” said attorney Katie Mesner-Hage, who also represents the families. “The defendants chose to make that weapon available to Connecticut citizens and to market it in explicitly militaristic terms — even in the wake of Columbine, Aurora and countless other tragedies.
“A Connecticut jury should have the opportunity to evaluate that choice and decide whether defendants bear some responsibility for what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School.”
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