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Sandy Hook Lawsuit Could Force Remington to Open Books

Associated Press

   A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court has upended a long-standing
   legal roadblock that has given the gun industry far-reaching immunity
   from lawsuits in the aftermath of mass killings.
   The court this week allowed families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook
   school massacre to sue the maker of the AR-15 used in the attack. The
   case against Remington will now proceed in the Connecticut courts.
   Remington is widely expected to win the case, but critics of the gun
   industry are eyeing what they see as a significant outcome even in the
   face of defeat: getting the gunmaker to open its books about how it
   markets firearms.
   Lawyers for the plaintiffs are certain to request that Remington turn
   over volumes of documents as part of the discovery phase. Those
   materials might include company emails, memos, business plans and
   corporate strategies, or anything that might suggest the company
   purposely marketed the firearm that may have compelled the shooter to
   use the weapon to carry out the slaughter.

   Message to gun companies
   The plaintiffs also believe the ruling will put gun companies on notice
   about how they conduct business, knowing they could wind up in the
   courts in similar fashion.
   ``If the industry wakes up and understands their conduct behind closed
   doors is not protected, then the industry itself ... will take steps to
   try to help the massive problem we have instead of do nothing and sit
   by and cash the checks,'' said JoshuaKoskoff, the Connecticut attorney
   who represents a survivor and relatives of nine victims who died at the
   Newtown, Connecticut, school on December 14, 2012.

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