Mass shooting victims can sue gun manufacturer!

[Blackstuff]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... rward.html

"The Supreme Court said Tuesday a survivor and relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting can pursue their lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 26 people. The justices rejected an appeal from Remington Arms that argued it should be shielded by a 2005 federal law preventing most lawsuits against firearms manufacturers when their products are used in crimes. The court's order allows the lawsuit filed in Connecticut state court by a survivor and relatives of nine victims who died at the Newtown, Connecticut, school on December 14, 2012 to go forward.


The lawsuit says the Madison, North Carolina-based company should never have sold a weapon as dangerous as the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle to the public. Gunman Adam Lanza used it to kill 20 first graders and six educators. It also alleges Remington targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games. Lanza was 20 years old. 'The families are grateful that the Supreme Court upheld precedent and denied Remington's latest attempt to avoid accountability,' said Joshua Koskoff, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families. Gunman Adam Lanza used the weapon to kill 20 first graders and six educators.

'We are ready to resume discovery and proceed towards trial in order to shed light on Remington's profit-driven strategy to expand the AR-15 market and court high-risk users at the expense of Americans' safety,' he said. Messages seeking comment were left with a lawyer for Remington Arms on Tuesday. Lanza earlier shot his mother to death at their Newtown home and killed himself as police arrived at the school. The rifle was legally owned by his mother. The Connecticut Supreme Court had earlier ruled 4-3 that the lawsuit could proceed for now, citing an exemption in the federal law. The decision overturned a ruling by a trial court judge who dismissed the lawsuit based on the 2005 federal law, named the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The federal law has been criticized by gun control advocates as being too favorable to gun-makers, and it has been used to bar lawsuits over other mass killings.

The case is being watched by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and gun manufacturers across the country, as it has the potential to provide a roadmap for victims of other mass shootings to circumvent the federal law and sue the makers of firearm. The 2005 federal law has been cited by other courts that rejected lawsuits against gun-makers and dealers in other high-profile shooting attacks, including the 2012 Colorado movie theater shooting and the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings in 2002. The National Rifle Association, 10 mainly Republican-led states and 22 Republicans in Congress were among those urging the court to jump into the case and end the lawsuit against Remington."

I wonder if its set a precedent or not?? Other gun manufacturers being sued? Car makers sued for people being ran over? Alcohol makers for people injured by a drunk person?!

[MotorRacingBruce1980]

I wonder if its set a precedent or not?? Other gun manufacturers being sued? Car makers sued for people being ran over? Alcohol makers for people injured by a drunk person?!

Where would you draw the line?

Surely the part that states the gun was legally owned by his mother would be enough to say that Remington are not responsible for what happened.

[BamBam]

Lawyers, they're the ruin of all societies.

[jmc67]

Soooo, the family of anyone who smokes and dies from lung cancer can sue cigarette companies too then? Obviously they are known to be dangerous to health, so surely it is the companies fault that someone died while using them.

[1066]

I hit my thumb yesterday but for the life of me I can't find the makers name on the hammer - surely that can't be right can it, there must be a serial number or some other identification mark or how else will I know who's fault it was.
As BamBam say, the only winner here will be the lawyers.

[Geek]

The world has gone mad! When will society wake up and realise that people need to take responsibility for their own actions!

[Gazza]

It's the Dailytwat........ignore

[Dark Skies]

It's utterly ridiculous to transfer blame to an inanimate tool for the actions of the user, obviously.
I wonder how car manufacturers feel about this bo...cks?

Anyhow, falling in line with the flawed thinking in this case ... surely it's the manufacturer of the bullets that struck victims that they ought to be pursuing?
Reductio ad absurdum and all that.

[Les]

I blame the Chinese for inventing gunpowder.

[DaveB]

I had hoped that when Trump got his nominee in and tiled the Supreme Court to the right, that would put an end to this sort of stupidity. Now of course I realise that when lawyers are involved, there is no end to stupidity. Shakespeare was so right about hanging all the lawyers.

The families involved have just lost any sympathy they might have had from me.