When the shooting stopped in Newtown, Connecticut on a Friday morning in 2012, 28 people, including 20 small children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School were dead. 20-year-old Adam Lanza somehow got his hands on multiple firearms including a Bushmaster AR-15, and the rest is history.
Fast forward almost 10 years. The families of nine victims have successfully concluded their litigation with Remington Arms, the bankrupt manufacturer of the Bushmaster rifle. On Tuesday, lawyers for the families announced the $73 million settlement with renewed hope that other families might never have to go through similar pain and loss in the future.
In 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Lawsuit Commerce in Arms Act into law. The federal statute protects firearms manufacturer and dealers from being held liable when crimes are committed with their products. The law has historically served as an almost complete bar to litigation against gun manufacturers. But the law does have a small ‘loophole’, some ‘wiggle room,’ if you will. It permits liability if a gun is defective or if a manufacturer is guilty of breach of contract, criminal misconduct, or any act that causes them to be directly responsible.
Why gun manufacturers needed better protections than any other manufacturer has always been a mystery to me. In fact, I was so furious about these additional protections afforded to these inherently dangerous products, I made a specific effort to point it out to our citizens. I wrote a Zachary Blake Legal Thriller novel about the issue of manufacturer immunity in the context of a school shooting. Betrayal High offered a ‘roadmap’ for possible success in litigation against a gun manufacturer.
Betrayal High argues that gun manufacturers who are guilty of criminal mischief, breach contracts or standards of care, sell guns on the black market, or violate state consumer protection laws can and should be held accountable.
The Sandy Hook victims’ attorneys successfully argued at least one of those theories to achieve this historic settlement. The families claimed that Remington pitched its products to ‘at-risk’ young men using violent video games and over-the-top grandiose rhetoric to entice purchases of its products.
In my opinion, the risk that a judge or jury would find that these marketing tactics met the language of the exception to the federal immunity statute prompted Remington to come to the negotiating table and settle the litigation.
In the future, gun manufacturers must reconsider how they sell and/or market their dangerous products, despite the federal law. The families’ attorney said that the settlement sends a signal to gunmakers that they “cannot act with impunity” and finally, with this settlement, clearly “have skin in the game.” I congratulate the brave lawyers who took on this highly protected industry with little chance of success, spent countless hours and tons of money pursuing justice, and, finally, emerged victorious.
One couple, whose six-year-old son was killed during the rampage, provided testimony released after the settlement was announced. “What is lost remains lost, however, the resolution does provide a measure of accountability to an industry that has thus far operated with impunity.”
Amen—at long last, some measure of justice for survivors of this horrible tragedy. May the memories of the victims be for a blessing.
Mark M. Bello is an attorney and award-winning author of the Zachary Blake Legal Thriller Series, ripped-from-the headlines, realistic fiction that speak truth to power and champion the rights of citizens in our justice system. These novels, dedicated to the social justice movement, are not only enjoyable, they educate, spark discussion and inspire readers to action. For more information, please visit www.markmbello.com. Mark also hosts the Justice Counts podcast with Not Fake News editor & publisher Bob Gatty, presenting bi-weekly interviews focused on social justice.