Judge Rules on Right for Sandy Hook Victims’ Families to Have Access to Gun Manufacturer’s Records

By John Yannone

In the long legal battle between victims’ families and Bushmaster, the manufacturer of the A-15 gun used by Adam Lanza to kill 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, a judge has ruled that the families can now access Bushmaster’s marketing records.

The aim of the lawsuit is to decide whether or not the company’s militaristic marketing tactics were irresponsible and whether the company should be held liable, at least in part, for the mass shooting that occurred.

It is a significant attempt towards holding gun manufacturers partly responsible for the crimes that occur while their guns are in use, and how their marketing techniques may contribute to this.

In December 2014, nine families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims and one survivor began working with a prominent Connecticut law firm specializing in injury and medical malpractice. The lawsuit claims that Bushmaster’s marketing strategy “deliberately targets young men, some of whom are inclined to violence.”

Now, as per the judge’s ruling on Thursday, May 5, these families have the legal right to access the company’s marketing records, which they hope can prove some kind of irresponsibility or aggressive tactics on the part of Bushmaster.

The next step in the case will occur on June 20, in which Bushmaster, the victims’ families, and their attorneys will meet in court for oral arguments to determine whether or not the case should proceed further. If so, the case is scheduled to go to trial in April 2018.

Opponents say the victims’ families are on shaky legal ground in this trial and the probability of success is relatively low. Gun companies and gun rights advocates are particularly angered by the lawsuit, calling it a “farce” and an attempt by people who know little about guns to “demonize a rifle that is functionally no different from many other weapons.”

The families’ attorneys have used this lawsuit as a fairly creative move to help decide who is legally responsible for mass shootings, the numbers of which have undoubtedly increased in the past several years. Time will tell as to how successful, if at all, they may be in holding gun companies liable.

John Yannone is the head of the Personal Injury Practice Group at Price Benowitz LLP. John believes in helping injured individuals seek civil justice for their loss. He handles car accident, medical malpractice, and slip and fall cases.

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