US News

Bushmaster Gets Stay Of Sandy Hook Lawsuit Ahead Of Supreme Court Appeal

The Connecticut Supreme Court granted gunmaker Bushmaster Firearms a stay in the Sandy Hook victims lawsuit, as the manufacturer readies its appeal to the nation’s highest judicial tribunal.

Bushmaster produced the XM15 rifle that shooter Adam Lanza used to kill 26 people at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012.

The stay delays the start of the evidence-gathering phase of the litigation — called discovery — which will give the plaintiffs an intimate view of Bushmaster’s internal operations. The stay will remain in effect until the U.S. Supreme Court takes action on Bushmaster’s forthcoming petition.

“It is a fairly routine procedural maneuver and in line with the delaying legal tactics that we have dealt with all along,” plaintiffs lawyer Josh Koskoff told CNN.

It’s not clear when Bushmaster will file its appeal with the high court. Were the Court to grant the petition, the justices would most likely hear the case in early 2020.

Though the lawsuit was dismissed in 2016, the Connecticut Supreme Court said the dispute could proceed to trial, a federal law protecting the gun industry from liability notwithstanding. Congress created that immunity in 2005 when it adopted the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). The law generally protects gunmakers from lawsuits when its weapons are used for criminal purposes.

Nonetheless, the state Supreme Court said the Sandy Hook plaintiffs can proceed under an exception to PLCCA that destroys the immunity when firearms manufacturers break unfair trade practices laws. The decision stunned Second Amendment groups.

If the lawsuit ever reaches trial, the plaintiffs will try and prove that the Bushmaster promotions for the XM15 violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA). The plaintiffs say advertising materials for the weapon encouraged its use for illegal reasons by glorifying its lethal capacity.

Bushmaster announced its intention to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in early April.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Kevin Daley

Share
Published by
Kevin Daley

Recent Posts

Best Frugal Way to Tell Mosquitoes to Buzz Off — Before They Even Hatch

Let's talk about mosquitoes. Not the gentle, Disney-style ones with big eyes and a cartoon…

7 hours ago

President Donald Trump’s Schedule for Monday, June 30, 2025

Schedule Summary: President Donald Trump will sign executive orders on Monday. President Donald Trump’s Itinerary for…

7 hours ago

Tell This Twenty-Something Fireball That Trump Doesn’t Like Strong Women

We were lulled into a sense of mediocrity and incompetence during the Obama and Biden…

7 hours ago

John Thune Needs To Do Something About Obama-Era Parliamentarian Kneecapping Trump’s Megabill

MAGA supporters are outraged that the Senate parliamentarian is dictating what the Republican-controlled Senate may…

19 hours ago