Remington Arms, one of the biggest gun manufacturers in the world, has agreed to a $73 million settlement with the families of nine victims of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
ABC News reports that the settlement, revealed in court filings on Tuesday, marks “the first time a gun manufacturer has been held liable for a mass shooting in the U.S.”
Twenty children and six teachers were murdered on December 14, 2012 by a mentally disturbed twenty-year old who had just killed his mother and would commit suicide when confronted by first responders.
Several guns were used by the perpetrator, including a rifle manufactured and marketed by Remington.
ABC News adds:
The rifle [the shooter] used was Remington’s version of the AR-15 assault rifle, which is substantially similar to the standard issue M16 military service rifle used by the U.S. Army and other nations’ armed forces, but fires only in semiautomatic mode.
The families argued Remington negligently entrusted to civilian consumers an assault-style rifle that is suitable for use only by military and law enforcement personnel and violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act through the sale or wrongful marketing of the rifle.
NBC News reports:
The path to reaching a settlement has been complicated, with the lawsuit making its way through the state Supreme Court after Remington argued it should be shielded under a federal law designed to prevent gun manufacturers from being held liable for crimes in which their guns were used. In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would allow the suit to go forward.
In July 2021, attorneys for the company offered nearly $33 million to settle the suit.
The Associated Press explains:
The case was watched by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and gun manufacturers across the country because it had the potential to provide a roadmap for victims of other mass shootings to circumvent the federal law and sue the makers of firearms.
Remington, one of the nation’s oldest gun makers founded in 1816, filed for bankruptcy for a second time in 2020 and its assets were later sold off to several companies. The manufacturer was weighed down by lawsuits and retail sales restrictions following the school shooting.
The families of the victims are expected to hold a press conference late Tuesday morning.