Supreme Court agrees to hear Sandy Hook appeal

Attorney Joshua Koskoff and the Sandy Hook families that are suing the gun maker for providing the AR-15-type Bushmaster held a press conference at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport, Conn. on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis ruled Thursday that a lawsuit by the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims could proceed against the manufacturer of the military-style rifle used to kill the 20 first graders and six adults in December, 2012. less Attorney Joshua Koskoff and the Sandy Hook families that are suing the gun maker for providing the AR-15-type Bushmaster held a press conference at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder in Bridgeport, Conn. on Monday, Feb. ... more Photo: Cathy Zuraw / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Cathy Zuraw / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Supreme Court agrees to hear Sandy Hook appeal 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD — The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims challenging a judge’s decision to throw out their suit against a gun maker.

In letters to the lawyers in the case, the clerk of the Supreme Court stated the appeal, originally filed with the Appellate Court, had been transferred to the docket of the Supreme Court. No date on a hearing before the court has been set.

In October, in a 54-page decision, Bridgeport Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis granted a motion to strike the lawsuit brought against the gunmaker, Remington Outdoor Co., the dealer, Camfour Inc. and the company that owned the gun store, Riverview Sales, where Adam Lanza’s mother bought the assault rifle he used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School slayings.

The families of 10 Sandy Hook victims had filed the suit in January 2015. They claimed the gun maker and sellers knew civilians were unfit to operate the assault rifle, and yet they continued selling it. The lawsuit sought to use a small window for holding companies accountable, including instances of so-called negligent entrustment, in which a gun is carelessly given or sold to a person posing a high risk of misusing it.

The Superior Court judge ruled the lawsuit did not satisfy the exception to federal law that gives immunity to gun manufacturers for the actions of gun owners under either the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) or the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA).

“Although PLCAA provides a narrow exception under which plaintiffs may maintain an action for negligent entrustment of a firearm, the allegations in the present case do not fit within the common-law tort of negligent entrustment under well-established Connecticut law,” the judge wrote.

The families’ lawyer, Joshua Koskoff, said at the time, “While the families are obviously disappointed with the judge’s decision, this is not the end of the fight.”