Nine Sandy Hook families agree to $73M settlement with gun maker Remington
Nine Sandy Hook families agree to $73M settlement with Remington in landmark judgment after the gun maker’s rifle was used to kill 20 children and six teachers: Attorney warns other gun victims could now sue manufacturers
The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have agreed to a $75M settlement against the maker of the rifle used in the massacre Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old gunman in the Sandy Hook shooting, used the Bushmaster AR15 rifle made by Remington and legally owned by his mother to kill the children and educators on December 14, 2012The civil case in Connecticut focused on how the firearm used was marketed, alleging it targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and video gamesIn one of Remington’s ads, it features the rifle against a plain backdrop and the phrase: ‘Consider Your Man Card Reissued’Another ad appeared to call out the gunman, saying ‘Adam L is just unmanly’ The families said it sends a shockwave to the industry that has enjoyed immunityTheir attorney said it sends a message to the industry and that it could set a precedent for others to sue manufacturers based on irresponsible marketing
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The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have agreed to a $73 million settlement against the maker of the rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators in 2012, according to a court filing.
The families and a survivor of the shooting sued Remington in 2015, saying the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public. They said their focus was on preventing future mass shootings.
The civil court case in Connecticut focused on how the firearm used by the Newtown shooter – a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle – was marketed, alleging it targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games.
Josh Koskoff, who represented the nine families, said the victory could set the precedent for other lawsuits based on irresponsible marketing and should get the gun industry’s attention.
‘This case was never in the pursuit of compensation, it was about making change,’ he said during a news conference on Tuesday. ‘It’s important that they get a lot of damages paid to send a message to the gun industry.’
Koskoff added that the lawsuit would send a shockwave to not only the gun industry, but to the insurance industry backing gun manufacturers.
‘It’s over. You’re not invincible,’ Koskoff said. ‘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.’
Mary D’Avino (left) and her daughter Hannah held up a photo of her late daughter, Rachel D’Avino, a teacher at Sandy Hook who was preparing to start a family before she was killed
Veronique De La Rosa, mother of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner, said, ‘Today is the day of accountability for an industry that has so far enjoyed operating with immunity and impunity’ after announcement of $73 million settlement
Leon Pozner with his son Noah, who was among 20 students gunned down by Adam Lanza with a a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle
Josh Koskoff, who represented the nine families, said the lawsuit should get the gun industry’s attention and could set the precedent for more lawsuits
Jillian Soto, the sister of slain teacher Victoria Soto, is shown after horror at Sandy Hook. Their sister, Donna, was among the nine plaintiffs in the case against the gun maker
Nicole and Ian Hockley (bottom) holding pictured carrying their children Dylan (left) and Jake. Nicole said her family experienced the ‘American Nightmare’
David and Francine Wheeler took solace in their victory on Tuesday as they continue to mourn the loss of their six-year-old son, Benjamin
Teacher Lauren Rousseau, 30, (above) was among the victims shot and killed at Sandy Hook. Her father, Gilles J. Rousseau, joined the lawsuit against Remington
The families said they pursued the lawsuit for seven years to ensure that another massacre like the one in Sand Hook Elementary never happens again
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Donna Soto, Ian Hockley and Nicole Hockley, David C. Wheeler, Mary D’Avino, Mark Barden and Jacqueline Barden, William D. Sherlach, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, Leonard Pozner, Gilles J. Rousseau and Natalie Hammond.
Soto lost her sister Victoria Soto, 27, a teacher at the school. The Hockley’s lost their six-year-old son, Dylan.
Wheeler lost his son, Benjamin, 6, and the Bardens lost their seven-year-old son, Daniel.
Mary D’Avino lost her daughter Rachel D’Avino, 29, the behavioral therapist who had just began working at Sandy Hook Elementary as he prepared to marry her boyfriend and start a family together.
Sherlach lost his wife, school psychologist Mary Joy Sherlach, 56. The Heslin and Lewis lost their six-year-old boy Jesse Lewis, who had reportedly been leading other children to safety when he was gunned down.
Pozner also lost his six-year-old son, Noah. Rousseau lost his daughter, teacher Lauren Rousseau, 30.
Natalie Hammond, 49, suffered severe and permanent injuries to her left foot after she was shot.
Although the settlement is unlikely to open the floodgates for some settlements given that the lawsuit focused on how Remington marketed the rifle, it could change the way certain guns are marketed and the relationship between gun manufacturers and their insurers.
In one of Remington’s ads, it features the rifle against a plain backdrop and the phrase: ‘Consider Your Man Card Reissued.’
The ad goes on to explain what was a ‘man card’ is and appears to call out the shooter, Adam Lanza, 20, for being ‘unmanly’ because of his veganism.
‘Adam L is just unmanly,’ the ad reads, saying his man card was revoked. The company ran the same ad with a slew of other names.
Lanza, the 20-year-old gunman in the Sandy Hook shooting, used the Bushmaster AR15 rifle made by Remington and legally owned by his mother to kill the children and educators on December 14, 2012.
Lanza killed killed his mother at their Newtown home before the elementary school massacre. He then used a handgun to kill himself as police arrived.
Lanza’s severe and deteriorating mental health problems, his preoccupation with violence and access to his mother’s weapons ‘proved a recipe for mass murder,’ according to Connecticut’s child advocate.
The lawsuit claimed Remington’s ads for its Bushmaster rifle targeted younger, at-risk males. In one ad, Remington said the gun was for real men appears to call out the shooter, Adam Lanza, 20, for being ‘unmanly’ because of his veganism
The families of nine victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have agreed to a $75M settlement against, Remington, the maker of the rifle used in the massacre
The families and a survivor of the shooting sued Remington in 2015, saying the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public. They said their focus was on preventing future mass shootings
The families are set to release the documents they’ve gathered from their legal battle that demonstrates Remington’s alleged irresponsibility in market their rifles
Lanza used the gun to kill 20 first graders and six educators in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary
Nicole Hockley said : ‘Marketing weapons of war directly to young people known to have a strong fascination with firearms is reckless and, as too many families know, deadly conduct’
The families pursued a lawsuit against Remington for seven years
Attorney Josh Koskoff is pictured in 2019 with family members involved in lawsuit
Mourners, including Newtown police officers gather at a makeshift memorial outside a church in the aftermath of the elementary school shooting
Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old gunman in the Sandy Hook shooting, used the Bushmaster AR15 rifle made by Remington and legally owned by his mother to kill the children and educators on December 14, 2012
Lanza killed himself after the massacre
Remington had argued there was no evidence to establish that its marketing had anything to do with the shooting.
The company also had said the lawsuit should have been dismissed because of a federal law that gives broad immunity to the gun industry. But the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Remington could be sued under state law over how it marketed the rife. The gun maker appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.
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.
As part of the agreement, Remington said it would also allow the families to release documents they obtained during the lawsuit depicting the company’s questionable marketing of the weapon.
According to the lawsuit, Remington had marketed the weapon to civilians while using US Army imagery with slogans like, ‘(w)hen you need to perform under pressure Bushmaster delivers’ and ‘Forces of opposition, bow down. You are single-handedly outnumbered.’
Attorney’s for Remington did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Following the victory, 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.’
Veronique De La Rosa, mother of 6-year-old Noah Pozner, added, ‘Today is the day of accountability for an industry that has so far enjoyed operating with immunity and impunity.’
Nicole Hockley, whose son Dylan was killed in the shooting, said her family, who migrated from Britain, suffered the ‘American nightmare, where the right to bear arms supersedes the right to life.’
‘Marketing weapons of war directly to young people known to have a strong fascination with firearms is reckless and, as too many families know, deadly conduct,’ Hockley added.
‘Using marketing to convey that a person is more powerful or more masculine by using a particular type or brand of firearm is deeply irresponsible. My hope is that by facing and finally being penalized for the impact of their work, gun companies, along with the insurance and banking industries that enable them, will be forced to make their business practices safer than they have ever been.’
Shooter Adam Lanza killed his mother at their Newtown home (pictured) before the elementary school massacre
Family members said they experienced a nightmare during the shooting nearly ten years ago
Jackie Barden was pictured crying after she found out about the death of her son, Daniel
The attack left the community of Newtown, Connecting reeling
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.
It had previously offered to pay nearly $33 million to the nine families last July.
According to the New York Times, the school principal, Dawn Hochsprung, buzzed Lanza in because she recognized him as the son of a teacher. The Times reports that she was shot dead moments later, execution style.
A custodian ran through the halls, warning of a gunman on the loose, and someone switched on the intercom, alerting people in the building to the attack.
Faculty members locked their doors and ordered children to huddle in a corner or hide in closets as shot after shot echoed through the building.
Hannah D’Avino, the sister of victim Rachel D’Avino, said her sister was among the victims who corners could not identify how many times she had been shot due to bullets ricocheting throughout her classroom.
D’Avino said her sister, a teacher, had been preparing to get married with her boyfriend and start a family together when Lanza killed her.
She echoed the remarks from the other families who sued Remington that the purpose of the lawsuit was so that another Sandy Hook ‘would never happen again.
