The insurance companies handling the bankruptcy of the former Remington Arms Company (ROC) agreed on Tuesday to settle a lawsuit with nine families who lost loved ones during the 2012 mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
They agreed to pay out $73 million in total, per reports.
ROC handlers initially offered plaintiffs a sum of $33 million back in July, a fraction of the $1 Billion in damages the families were originally pursuing.
At the core of the lawsuit was the allegation that Remington engaged in “unethical and irresponsible marketing practices.”
Moreover, the claim that Remington should have known its “militaristic” marketing would appeal to someone like the Sandy Hook murderer, and they should have known a person like that would commit a horrible atrocity.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association, made it clear in a statement to GunsAmerica that the decision to settle the case, known as Soto v. Bushmaster, was “not made by a member of the firearms industry,” but rather, and as mentioned, made by various insurance carriers that held policies with the now-disbanded ROC.
NSSF went on to add that the settlement “does not alter the fundamental facts of the case” and that ROC “would have prevailed if this case had proceeded to trial.”
SEE ALSO: Mother, Iraq Vet Uses Pistol to Foil Attempted Carjacking
“The plaintiffs never produced any evidence that Bushmaster advertising had any bearing or influence over Nancy Lanza’s decision to legally purchase a Bushmaster rifle, nor on the decision of murderer Adam Lanza to steal that rifle, kill his mother in her sleep, and go on to commit the rest of his horrendous crimes,” noted NSSF.
“We renew our sincere sympathy for the victims of this unspeakable tragedy and all victims of violence committed through the misusing of any firearm. But the fact remains that modern sporting rifles are the most popular rifle in America with over 20 million sold to law-abiding Americans and rifles, of any kind, are exceedingly rarely used in crime,” said NSSF.
Some within the gun industry fret that this may open the door for future lawsuits that attempt to hold gun makers responsible for the criminal acts of third parties.
As GunsAmerica previously reported, the Brady Campaign sued Smith & Wesson last year for their “irresponsible” marketing practices, and a judge in California allowed the case to proceed.
However, NSSF said it was confident that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which was enacted to prevent frivolous lawsuits against gun makers, would continue to be an effective bulwark against such efforts.
“This settlement orchestrated by insurance companies has no impact on the strength and efficacy of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which remains the law of the land,” said NSSF. “PLCAA will continue to block baseless lawsuits that attempt to blame lawful industry companies for the criminal acts of third parties.”
The story is still developing, stay tuned for updates.
Just crazy, United States lawyers are sue crazy. To many are looking to win the lottery without purchasing at ticket. To sue a company for a product that functioned perfectly worked as advertised.
if the weapon was the murder at sandy hook , then iam sueing the fork company for making me fat and causing me to have so many heart attacks and almost killing me . I could use a few million at this time .
It’s a sad state of affairs .
The thought that an historic company can be
besmirched by corporate lawyers , and judicial
swine , assisted by the legal “ shakedown “artists
of the insurance industry , shows we have lost
our way .
God help us all !
Only way to prevent this stupidity is make guns smart. Bio metric locks and proximity detection with Geo fencing. Gun must be smarter than the stupid people…
Hey I found the leftist troll, mrstupido, get lost you dumbass.
Better call Saul.
The Headline is a lie. Remington did not settle. Their insurance companies did and it makes a big difference. It insinuates Remington admitting to wrong doing. Articles like this make me sick. Everyone just has to try and play propagandist.
Remington has a history of making poor decisions – hence going out of business..
This is just one more.
Funny how most the parents of children that died at sandy hook were gun rights activists. Oh and actors in television.
S&M
We’ll just to let you Wilko . Remington didn’t go out of business. The sold the Marlin division and some other dead wood. They are still up and running. Even there bullet plant.
Get serious, everyone. Anybody with a functioning brain knows this is about FREE MONEY. Pansy-assed insurers who sell out, whores for plaintiff’s lawyers, and a plump, easy non-moving target.
I wouldn’t have settled. The shooter killed his own mother, then STOLE the Bushmaster from her. How, in any way, could a manufacturer be held liable in that kind of case. It wasn’t the “buyer” who did the the crime, it was a murderer and a thief. That is analogous with car thief stealing your SUV and driving through a parade, then the victims suing the manufacturer for saying the SUV could “go anywhere, over many obstacles!”. It is ridiculous.
Yet another Leftist, liberal-scam for money, supported by corrupt attorneys and prosecutors and lenient judges. There is no recognition for “personal responsibility” any longer with this crowd, only attempts to shrewdly hide other anti- 2nd Amendment and personal-freedom agendas. This whole thing makes me sick, and, yes, as so many others have stated here, where does it end by trying to pin blame on inanimate objects and the companies manufacturing them, and not the actual perpetrator? I guess evrPencils Make Spelling Errors, Cars Kill People By A DUI Driver, Alcohol Makes People Alcoholics, Drugs Make People Addicts, Guns Pull Their Own Triggers, Knives Automatically Stab Flesh,…….. so, Democrats, sue all the companies that make these items but not, in the words of our illustrious VP KamalaChron Harris, the “root causes” of the criminals themselves.
So what about suing the drug manufacturer ….. That would seem to have more Correlation with the Causation of that Event. Gun makers NEVER advised that mentally ill or drug addicts should use their products.
There are all kinds of anecdotal cases involving young folks and these physiatric drugs.
So for consistency sake are we going to allow lawsuits against automobile manufacturers when a criminal drives one to commit a bank robbery… Or drive on the sidewalk intentionally killing innocent people?
Remember that when Cain killed Abel… God did not blame the rock… He blamed Cain.
That’s it! Based on marketing strategy, I’m going to sue Budwiser because I’m not partying and sleeping with dozens of beautiful women every weekend..
As I remember, no credible pictures or video. No ambulances. Numerous crisis actors cycling through the fire station. Heavy media and government involvement. Total town coverup. Quick teardown of crime scene. Similar drill scheduled at that time. This settlement yet again shows how far liberal fraud can go.
How come no one looked at the original Newtown school building. Doubt it had any electronic locking doors, cameras, or bullet proof glass. The school’s administration negligence is largely responsible for letting the shooter get into the building.
yes by all means we should make schools into fortresses. grow up
The argument for this judgement sounds like the now overturned, “attractive nuisance” law in California.
I am very disappointed in Rem. for this. Bowing down to this disgusting display of greed and political hatchetry is both foolish and disgusting.
Sir, re-read the article. Remington did not agree with this, nor did they have any part in negotiating this settlement. It was solely an issue between the insurers and victim’s families.
Jim , But your still rubbing Remingtons face in the dirt and making look guilty.
When are you corrupted liberal judges and liberals and idiotic anti-gun group going to it was the shooter who is responsible for what they and only they did.
Not the manufacturer or the (firearm which is an inanimate object) that can’t load itself or point it itself or pull the trigger itself only the shooter can do this.
BUT YOUR ALL TO STUPID TO SEE THAT PART of this issue (Stop targeting the manufacturer’s law abiding citizen and the (firearm which is an inanimate object).
Start holding the shooter who fired and Killed or injured the people he and only he pointed the firearm at and stop slapping them on the hand with a 20 year or life sentence and they get out in 15-20, bring back the death penalty on people like this and stop dropping it to a life sentence when it only really means 15-20 with the chance of parole.
read and understand. It was the marketing…
The tragedy of Sandy Hook was caused by a horribly negligent mother who allowed her mentally ill son who she was responsible for access to weapons. The rifle was innocent.
Perhaps you should reconsider your uninformed stance. By all accounts, his mother didn’t allow him access to the firearms. Rather, he murdered her in her sleep and took them. Can’t hardly fault her…
Trevor, I remember the story on this and she took him to the range to learn how to shoot it. At one point she was concerned about him getting access to it and was going to get rid of it but didn’t. HER FAULT
What a sad state of affairs! It’s cheaper for them to settle than to pay the attorneys to fight for what is right!
16-y.o. Johnny Doofus is left home alone as his parents take a long weekend away with other couples. He’s given strict instructions there’s to be no partying at the house. First night, Johnny throws a big party with all the liquor he found where his parents had hid it. Intoxicated, along with like friends, Johnny grabs the spare set of car keys to his mom’s car and goes for a joy ride with his pals. The inevitable high speed crash kills all occupants of the car and the occupants of the vehicle Johnny hit.
Along with the expected lawsuits(criminal charges?) against Johnny’s parents, now the door is thrown open to sue the makers of the brands of alcohol the kids drank and the car maker.
Insanity, you’ve found a new home!
seems legit to me. What if it waa your family killed by the drink driver?
This is a screw up for the 2A and firearm companies, but, you open the door a crack like this, and it is let her rip time. Any of you that loses a loved one to a drunk driver, hire a lawyer and sue the maker of the alcohol, the bar he drank in, and the car manufacturer. Loved one killed in a regular car wreck, sue the auto company. Dog bites you, sue the owner, the kennel it came from, the company that makes the dog food it eats. If the courts will now blame the item for death, and not the owner/operator, there is a whole world of inanimate stuff that can be blamed for everything and we will no longer need prisons for people. I’ve yet to see my AR open the safe, load the magazine, put it in, and walk out the door, but I guess in some minds it must happen.
I guess the psychotropics and the video games that Lanza pooped and watched are getting off but the supposed marketing of an item his mom bought are culprit. It’s hard to watch as our society spins off into leftwing bizzarro tolerationism.
If the NSSF thinks gun makers should be free to advertising military-style weapons so crazy people can buy them in order to “man up,” then they should join them at the defense table and share the consequences.
I bet you never speak up on all the “hate propaganda” masquerading as “entertainment” from the perverts in Hollywood et cetera.
Out of curiosity, what type of weapons do you think the 2nd amendment protects? Every other amendment in the Bill of Right restricts the government and empowered the citizen AGAINST the government.
In the landmark 2A ruling of US v. Miller the government argued the sawed off shotgun used by Miller was not protected by the 2nd amendment because it could not be used in a military setting by a militia (which was actually wrong, but it was the governments argument that prevailed) Thus re-enforcing that the 2nd specifically protects the rights of the citizens to keep and bear MILITARY WEAPONS, not just military style weapons, but those that could actually be useful in repelling an army.
I believe the NSSF would be happy with joining at the defense table (private negotiations) and had the insurance companies let them, it would have saved the insurance companies 73 million dollars.
Your illiterate statement is surpassed only by your grammatical incompetence.
You take ‘moron’ to the apogee of its definition.
I agree. Every day it seems like there is some knucklehead with a gun shooting himself or others because he thought he was rambo with that new gun he didnt have to train a lick to purchase.
ANY judge worth their law degree should have thrown this lawsuit out immediately ! !
Now we can sue makers of FORKS for making us fat…
This is great news. Now every manufacturer can be sued for what some deranged lunatic, parented by worthless, ignorant losers, may do with their product.
““This settlement orchestrated by insurance companies has no impact on the strength and efficacy of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which remains the law of the land,” said NSSF. “PLCAA will continue to block baseless lawsuits that attempt to blame lawful industry companies for the criminal acts of third parties.”
Are there total morons at the NSSF? This settlement absolutely guts the PLCAA! The successors to Remington Arms needs to file a lawsuit against the insurance companies for defamation and acting without consent. Now, every jackal family member of someone injured or killed by criminal misuse of ANY firearm will sue the mfr. of that gun out of existence. Tell me how the 2nd cousin of a victim should become an instant millionaire?
Ok, I know that I’m going to piss a lot of people off but the incident at Sandy Hook did not happen in the way our sincere, honest and dependable news outlets presented it. Wake up people, we’ve all seen the outright blatant lies and disinformation they have spewed for the past SIX YEARS! And you think that all the coverage on Sandy Hook wasn’t a sham as well? Really? Don’t get me wrong, something did happen that day but not what we were led to believe. Saddest part, not only did Remington cave in but they were led straight to the slaughter and the lying liberals and pompous elite have once again duped America and assaulted our 2nd amendment freedoms.
grow up. The courts have decided differently. People like you shouldnt be able to own guns because you are too damn stupid. Nobody in the US has to make shit up about mass murder by gun because they happen all of the time
As with most lawsuits, “It’s all about the Benjamins.”
There’s more proof that Sandy Hoax didn’t happen than it did.
With all the money grabbers welcome to my new company “Down Boy” I will teach your guns not to kill 19.95ea but wait there is more you will get 2 trained for the price of one
Another Remington FU&K up watch all the law suite start to fly. JUST SAY NO
Rufus’s 3rd cousin, whom he hasn’t seen in 10 years and never talks to, was killed in a drive-by. Lawyer contacts Rufus via list of extended family members and tells him he can become an instant millionaire if he tosses his name onto the “grieving family’s” wrongful death lawsuit.
Rufus, a shiftless unemployed welfare cheat, cannot believe his good luck and says, “Hell yeah!!”
Greedy lawyer(who’ll claim 50% of any settlement or award) uses the inflated list of plaintiffs to pump-up the dollar amount of claims over “pain & suffering” of the cuz’s survivors.
Insurance company settles for massive amount, rather than fight, then cancels gun mfr.’s policy. ALL insurance companies read the handwriting on the wall and refuse to insure gun makers. The next volley of lawsuits directly hits the gun makers, driving most of them out of business. Gun control Progressive-Socialists everywhere throw week-long parties to celebrate what they couldn’t do before.
Another instance when the industry and pro-2nd groups are sold out by their attorney’s.
The purpose of the 2nd was “to assure the continuation and render possible the effectiveness” of the Militia. It has little to do with the “individual right theory” except for the fact that Militia, as recognized in Law, would protect all our rights.
If the old adage “shoot yourself in the foot” applies anywhere, it is most suited to the 2nd amendment community. For reasons that I’ve learned over the years, Militia is horrifying to the people who should be pushing to revitalize it as the Constitution commands. Part of the reason is an inexplicable denial to acknowledge what is written in black and white. Another aspect is money for all those pro-2nd groups. Still another is what will lead us into a tyrannical state. That is the fact that 90% of the population will do nothing to protect themselves, their family, or their community. The last being a paradigm, under which government operates.
I’m glad that we have 20+million AR15 and AR10 and AK47 in this country. Look at Ukraine not enough guns or ammo. They have to call us for it. Invade us Russia or China. The guns and ammo we have here are like blades of grass and not afraid to use them .
The head line should read Insurance company for the now Defunct and Dissolved Remington
settle with the Sandy Hook Families for 10% of the oringal lawsuit . In a move to end the Lawsuit .
And now not having a defendent / client to repersent .
It is typical for a company that is acquiring another company’s assets to also acquire its liabilities(i.e., debts, etc.). Therefor, it seems likely that Roundhill Group, LLC, who got Remington’s branded firearm division, would be the defendent in this case. I’m not an attorney, so perhaps I’m wrong about that and the insurance co. claimed it legally only represented Remington, period. Otherwise, Roundhill could’ve opposed any settlement and directed the insurance co. to fight in court; they would’ve likely won easily.
Here’s a thought. Why not sue the hip-hop artists for their violent videos? Oh wait! Most of them are black so that would be racist.
Aaaand there he is…that ONE idiot who spends all his brainpower to try and insert race into a conversation about litigation of gun manufacturers…
Please get off your sister/cousin’s internet and leave this to the adults. Inbreed
@ Anti, Aaaahh, did someone get a little sore that someone else talked ill about the music you listen to? Hip hop is trash music. Nothing good comes from that music. Cry some more.
Can’t believe it. So now, every story of an armed citizen who thwarts a crime will mean that the criminal (or mostly their kin left to clean up the mess) will be able to sue the firearm company that “murdered” their poor slob because he “got in the way” of a projectile sent down range by the citizen who didn’t want to be the victim. Remington should have clopped those insurance company attornies on the head with a stock! This is only evidence that the woke nation is whining so loud as to make it impossible for anyone to sit and read the paper in the morning!
As much as the money consideration, the insurance co. was almost certainly considering the sensationalized negative press that would ensue if they fought the claim and won the case in court. The corrupt media would run with that coverage 24/7—-
Breaking News:
“Insurance Company colludes with Murderous Weapon-Of- War Mfr. to Kill Rightful Compensation to Sandy Hook Victims’ Families”
Then would come the doxxing & death threats against the insurance co. executives & attorneys. Woke activists would attempt to “cancel” the company and its clients.
Don’t think this wasn’t a factor in the decision to settle. It may have been the major factor.
Cant figure out what is wrong with all my guns. ??
NONE of them have EVER:
Gotten up, walked out the door and shot Anyone.
Even my several AR’s.
For MANY Years now.
attorney:
“We have witnesses who’ll testify that they heard the guns whispering among themselves that they were itching to shoot somebody. Furthermore, a former employee will come forward to swear that Innocent Arms Mfg. made the guns ‘mean’ by beating the parts before assembly. Your Honor, on behalf of our plaintiffs, all 78 family members, we make a Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of our clients for the amount of $6Billion.”
Remington’s hands were tied, per-say, the insurance company threw them under the bus…
But with the way things went it made Remington look bad setting a negative path for gun manufacturers.
If some deranged individual wants to kill people, it’s a heart problem… Not guns, fertilizer, rented trucks, knives, the list goes on… It’s rediculous, especially in the times we’re in, WOW!
The kid that used the gun stole it from his mother. He is not old enough to purchase a gun or possess it without an adult guardian or parent present. Gun manufacturers certainly do not advertise to minors.
“Irrelevant argument! Overruled! Defendent is guilty as charged; pay-up”
(10% judge-ordered award is deposited in a secret bank account for him)
We told you it was a Legal system, NOT a Justice system.
He murdered his mother first then stole the gun. Are they suing the car manufacturer for the car he used? What about the tire manufacturer that was on said car? Did he use a cell phone at anytime coordinated his evil plot? Sue the company that made the phone and the service provider. This lawsuit had nothing to do with anything but going after guns period. They can’t get rid of the 2A so they will bankrupt the companies that make them and make them so expensive only the government and rich can afford. Nothing for the serfs.
LOOK OUT STIHL!!!!!
You are gonna get sued because of the Texas chainsaw massacre!!!
This isn’t setting a precedent…this was slam dunk the day they decided to sue…the precedent was set when Mississippi sued the tobacco industry using the same approach. Im honestly surprised it took this long.
This is a little different than the tobacco lawsuit. Back then the tobacco companies knew about the dangers and hid them from the public. Remember, there were no warning labels on cigarettes. I guess they should put labels on guns saying “Warning: guns can kill if you shoot yourself or someone else.” There are a lot of ignorant people in this world. Want proof? Both Hillary and Biden got more votes than Trump.
Hahaha 🤣
You believe a walking corpse got more votes than Trump, let alone Black Jesus. Now that’s a good one. You should do stand up on Kimmel!
Biden supposedly got more votes than any other POTUS with over 81,000,000 as the official number while Trump was around 75,000,000. Now how many ignorant people really believe that the US is a free Democratic Republic?
The “warning label” on cigarettes is the filter. If there’s nothing wrong with cigarettes what’s the filter for? So cigarette smokers should not be able to claim that they weren’t warned…
Many guns DO have a warning label. Some engraved right on the side of the gun, all the rest are in the owners manual.
I heard it was the insurance company who caved, not Remington.
Which is why the headline of the article should be changed.
But even gun websites need clicks.
This way of thinking makes it easy to hold the Automobile manufacturers responsible for the carnage taking place every day on the highways.
Exactly. Hold every manufacturer responsible for the actions ofnthe end user.
DWI accident? Sorry Budweiser, your fault.
Speed related automobile fatalities? Oh well BMW pony up.
This is a terrible idea.
Correct. This is a very slippery slope. No company is safe from frivolous law suits anymore. Even if you win, the litigation expenses can be enormous. I’m guessing the crook lawyers are loving it.
Exactly
This sets a precedent that now people will sue Ford, GM, and Stellantis/Chrysler for drunk driving deaths. It’s the same premise.
Have been in Remington’s position in another field. I knew we could win in court, but insurance company refused to let us absolve them of responsibility for the settlement amount that would have gone to the plaintiff.
They claimed that if we lost in court and got charged a larger settlement, we could sue them for the difference.
Sad to see the anti-gun nuts will claim Remington lost the suit on the merits. 🙄
Stupid move on Remington’s behalf NEVER cave in to leftists – make them fight every step of the way, all the way to the SCOTUS, and then get the lawsuit dismissed with extreme prejudice! Remington/Bushmaster did NOTHING wrong! What next – are we going to start suing car manufacturers for accidents and injuries caused by irresponsible, insane, or criminally-inclined people misusing their products?
That being said, we should be able to sue the DNC for failure to protect its citizens
Learn to read, Rich!!! Remington had NOTHING to do with this settlement. It was the insurance carriers decision.
This was the insurance carriers decision, not Remington. Rem had nothing to do with this decision.
Well that is the beginning of the end. Sadly defamation and libel are hard to “prove” by comparison, or you could actively destroy CNN and MSNBC (that and University of California system after that Professor actively defamed Kyle which should get something close to a 5 trillion dollar punitive settlement causing it and the government supporting them to fold). Remington never has really cared about the precedent because they will be supported by government and police contracts. Like most big companies they have no concern about the 2nd amendment. If you are turned into a slave, it doesn’t matter to them because they’ll get paid more since it will take more enforcers.
It has always seemed like a weird strategy to go at Bushmaster over its advertising? How does Bushmaster advertise? Is there much more than print ads in trade publications? Do most of these kids learn about these weapons of war from video games? And I doubt that AR pattern rifles like AR-15s and M-16s carry brand names in most of those games. Maybe some do? But I can tell you for sure that video games are where most of these young men are learning about assault weapons and gun culture – and what they are learning about gun culture from these video games is as misguided as what they are learning about love from internet pornography.
Why are you so stupid ? Really you just spout the stupidest shit.
Really! you think he is spewing stupid shit, listen to yourself. Never ceases to amaze me how the gun hating left like you would take a valid argument and say it was stupid. You are a prime example of how the left operates you have no valid counter point so you start calling people names. Im sure you will be calling me a name when you reply to this.
Kjj5874, your reading and comprehension is not very good, have a nice day.
I always believed it to be hypocritical of firearm enthusiasts to blame violence on video games. Should we censor all violent movies and books too? If parents don’t want their kids playing Xbox or watching R rated movies it should be their responsibility. Also I absolutely loved Call of Duty World at War when I was a kid. It was sort of a history lesson for me and my brother. Also that’s where I found out about the M1 carbine, my second true love besides my wife.
You can consider it hypocritical to blame video games, but I consider anyone that does not hold video games to some of the blame to be either myopic, or an ostrich. You CANNOT ignore the fact that prior to the explosion of the internet and video games, there were virtually NO mass shootings in schools, or theaters. However, there were semi-auto rifles and handguns readily available, the former often brought to school in a kid’s truck.
The aspect of “killing without sorrow” is the primary ingredient in so many video games. It need only adversely affect one child out of a million to create a very dangerous situation. Are you going to try to tell me than not even one child in a million is very negatively affected by video game slaughter?
If you want to see something done about public mass shootings, you MUST be able to accept that there are multiple reasons for their occurrence. Video games, along with fracturing of the family, emasculation of males, decline in the belief in a higher power, removal of personal responsibility for actions, failing to develop coping skills by isolating children from natural disappointments, and much more, all contribute to mass shootings by young people. If you look for a single cause, you will never see the truth.
Well Jim you definitely hit a couple of proverbial nails on the head! 》Seriously, WELL DONE!!!%《
I had heard that the original violent video games were created to desensitize our troops to the horrors of war by looking fairly real. ( I don’t know if it’s true ) Then they were turned into actual video games that glorified these horrific actions. Add parents who aren’t watching / caring what the kids are playing and you need up where we are today. The difference between the “violent” cartoons of the past and now? I’ve never seen a coyote mail order ANYTHING, much less rockets and explosives. I’ve also never seen a coyote with a 20 ton weight…
SOOO… How much will ” I ” have to pay to ” SANDY HOOK ” ???
I may not be able to afford to buy REMINGTON now…
Not a good precedent to be setting……the antis and lawyers are happy this morning and this will embolden lawsuits against car companies, alcohol distillers etc. Unfortunately, Remington had no say in this and the insurance suits just wanted to clear this off their books quickly 😢