Remington Offers $33 Million to Settle With Sandy Hook Families
In an effort to avoid further litigation and costs, the Alabama-based gun manufacturer has made an offer to the victims families who hope to prevent another Sandy Hook by exposing the financial risks to supporting assault weapons sales.
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Remington Arms Co. on Tuesday offered to pay nearly $33 million to nine families to settle lawsuits that claimed that its marketing of firearms contributed to the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, where 26 people died, reports Reuters. The proposed settlements would provide $3.66 million to relatives of each victim, subject to approval by the federal judge overseeing Remington’s bankruptcy case in Alabama. In a February court filing, the families’ lawyers estimated that wrongful death claims likely totaled more than $225 million, and total claims including punitive damages could exceed $1 billion.
Twenty students and six adults were killed on Dec. 14, 2012, by gunman Adam Lanza, who used a Remington Bushmaster rifle as he shot his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary School after shooting his mother to death at home. “Since this case was filed in 2014, the families’ focus has been on preventing the next Sandy Hook,” said Josh Koskoff, one of the families’ lawyers. “An important part of that goal has been showing banks and insurers that companies that sell assault weapons to civilians are fraught with financial risk.” His clients are considering their next steps in response to the offer from the Huntsville, Alabama-based Remington.
