Sandy Hook families appeal dismissal of suit against gun manufacturer Remington Arms

The families of some of the victims killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School appealed on Tuesday the dismissal of their wrongful death lawsuit against firearms manufacturer Remington Arms.

Seeking to revive the lawsuit, which was dismissed last month, the families filed the appeal in Connecticut Appellate Court but were hoping the state’s Supreme Court would hear the case.

“We feel strongly that the critical issues raised in this case belong before our state’s Supreme Court and we hope the Court agrees,” attorney Josh Koskoff said in a statement. “The Supreme Court not only sets precedent, but also reviews the applicability and relevance of prior decisions, and works to ensure that the common law is up-to-date with the realities and dangers of a changing world.”

Gunman Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle made by Remington to kill 26 people, including 20 first-graders, at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.

Families of nine victims and one survivor of the attack brought the lawsuit and said they wanted the opportunity to hold firearms companies accountable for the tragedy.

“As a father who lost a bright and shining child, all we ask is for our day in court to address the negligence of these companies,” David Wheeler, whose son Benjamin was among those killed, told the Hartford Courant.

Remington officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

State Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis in October dismissed the lawsuit brought by the families against Remington Arms on grounds that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act shielded the gun manufacturer from liability in the case.

Enacted by Congress in 2005, the law prohibits lawsuits against gun manufacturers and distributors over the criminal misuse of their firearms.

The families sought a way around the law by accusing the company of “negligent entrustment,” a claim that a gun was carelessly given or sold to a person who poses a high risk of misusing it.

They argued that Remington knew that the use of a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle outside of “highly regulated institutions,” such as law enforcement or the military, posed a risk but that the company marketed the gun to civilians anyway.

Lanza, who killed himself as police approached the school, had taken the gun from his mother, Nancy Lanza, whom he fatally shot before carrying out the Sandy Hook attack.

The original lawsuit also named as defendants Camfour Holding LLC, the gun’s distributor, and Riverview Sales, the gun store where Lanza’s mother purchased the firearm. The gun store has since closed.