Current Events > Families of Sandy Hook victims reach $73 million settlement with Remington

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https://www.npr.org/2022/02/15/1080819088/sandy-hook-victims-families-settlement-remington

Families of victims killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit against the company that made the murder weapon, for $73 million.

"These nine families have shared a single goal from the very beginning: to do whatever they could to help prevent the next Sandy Hook. It is hard to imagine an outcome that better accomplishes that goal," said Josh Koskoff, an attorney for the victims' families, in a statement on Tuesday.

According to Koskoff's law firm, Remington's four insurers have all agreed to pay the full amount of coverage available, which is the $73 million total. The gun-maker filed for bankruptcy in 2020, and its assets were sold off.

Thousands of pages of internal Remington company documents can also now be made public, according to Koskoff's law firm.

"This victory should serve as a wake-up call not only to the gun industry, but also the insurance and banking companies that prop it up," Koskoff said. "For the gun industry, it's time to stop recklessly marketing all guns to all people for all uses and instead ask how marketing can lower risk rather than court it. For the insurance and banking industries, it's time to recognize the financial cost of underwriting companies that elevate profit by escalating risk. Our hope is that this victory will be the first boulder in the avalanche that forces that change."

Attorneys for Remington did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at the Newtown, Conn., school left 20 students and six educators dead.
Two years later, relatives of victims sued the Remington Arms Co. in a Connecticut court. They alleged that the manufacturer marketed and sold assault rifles to civilians, "prioritizing profit over public safety."

Now, that suit has come to a close. "The plaintiffs in this action hereby give Notice that a settlement agreement has been executed between the parties," read a Tuesday filing from attorneys representing the estates of people killed in the shooting.

Jury selection in the 7-year-old case was set to begin this September. But now, according to the filing signed by Koskoff, there's a request for a hearing to have the case withdrawn.

not enough money tbh

That's like 700 bucks to Remington

What about the other families that didn't join in on the lawsuit?

*sigh* The whole thing is depressing but this makes me cautiously optimistic that things may change in the future?

Remington is responsible for this because they aired a commercial?

Pepys Monster posted...

Remington is responsible for this because they aired a commercial?

Their armor was used

So what exactly is the advertising that they used as the basis for this? I can't seem to find anything other than that the case was initially dropped and they used a communications law as the basis on another appeal.

Joeydollaz posted...

That's like 700 bucks to Remington

They filed for bankruptcy in 2020.

Alucard188 posted...

They filed for bankruptcy in 2020.

and?
That is a tactic not a statement

PatrickMahomes posted...

"These nine families have shared a single goal from the very beginning: to do whatever they could to help prevent the next Sandy Hook. It is hard to imagine an outcome that better accomplishes that goal,"

Does it really? School shootings are still occurring at a rate I wouldn't consider low.

St0rmFury posted...

Does it really? School shootings are still occurring at a rate I wouldn't consider low.

well one of the major problems is that gun companies are so protected by the courts that it took 7 years just for a settlement.

it's hard to make progress when the example they're rallying behind isn't something most people think about. there have been hundreds of shootings since then

"Illegally obtained product performs as advertised and does exactly what it was made to do, where money". Suing gun manufacturers is the most pants on head idiotic American thing ever. This isn't the answer, and we may as well start suing Ford when a drunk driver takes out a minivan full of kids with their F-350

And there's still people out there that think the Sandy Hook situation was phony.

Ryven posted...

And there's still people out there that think the Sandy Hook situation was phony.

yeah that didnt help either but I think they got a lawsuit from that too

Just read the article again and I'm not seeing where the liability lies with Remington. I can confidently say I've never seen an ad for any gun manufacturer that even hints at "great for settling scores" or "clears a classroom with ease".

thronedfire2 posted...

well one of the major problems is that gun companies are so protected by the courts that it took 7 years just for a settlement.

it's hard to make progress when the example they're rallying behind isn't something most people think about. there have been hundreds of shootings since then

You know, I did a double take on my post and realise the attorney is talking about what may happen after the settlement.

So yea, while there's been hundreds of shootings while this case was still reaching its conclusion, the outcome might set a precedent for the future (for better or worse).