Gun-maker Remington Arms is hoping the country’s highest court will make a ruling in a lawsuit over the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The Connecticut Supreme Court last month ruled that several families who lost loved ones in the 2012 mass shooting can bring a case against the manufacturer, focused on its marketing of the AR-15 Bushmaster.
Now attorneys for Remington have notified the Connecticut Supreme Court of their intention to petition the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gun companies have operated under the assumption that they are shielded from prosecution over how their products are used by a 2005 federal law.
But Josh Koskoff, a partner at Koskoff, Koskoff, and Bieder – a firm representing the plaintiffs -- said this case involves interpretation of a state statute on unfair trade practices, and because of that, he doesn’t think the Supreme Court will get involved.
“Right now, what’s at issue is what happens during the time period it takes to file such a petition to the United States Supreme Court,” Koskoff said. “Really the question is: does the case get put on hold yet again-- as Remington has tried repeatedly to do and has been successful at for so many years – does it get put on hold during this pendency of this motion or can we finally proceed into the discovery process that these families have waited so long to engage in.”
The suit is a high-stakes challenge to gun companies more broadly, which have rarely been held liable for crimes committed with their products, and it could mark a new front in the battle over gun regulations and corporate accountability.
Attorneys for Remington weren’t immediately available for comment.
