Sandy Hook Families Claim Remington Filings an Attempt to End Lawsuit
On July 27 Remington filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Nearly a month ago, we wrote that Remington was preparing to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Now, a number of Sandy Hook families have claimed that the filing is an attempt to circumvent their lawsuit against the gun manufacturer.
The court’s protections during the Chapter 11 process will enable the Company to manage the sale process on an expedited basis while protecting the interests of its customers, employees, and other stakeholders. Remington is in active discussions with a number of parties and will continue to engage with parties interested in a going-concern sale. The company expects to solicit bids prior to an auction to be held in September 2020.
Attempt to End the Litigation?
According to a statement from Josh Koskoff, the Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder attorney representing the families:
Remington’s filing, made this morning in Alabama, fails to specifically preserve the families’ legal claims against it. By contrast, its 2018 bankruptcy filing made clear that the Sandy Hook lawsuit would remain intact upon the company’s emergence from bankruptcy. The failure to carve out the ongoing court case is seen by the families as an attempt to abruptly end the litigation.
“We cannot begin to prevent future tragedies until gun manufacturers face consequences for wrongful conduct that prioritizes their profits over public safety. We ask JPMorgan Chase and Remington’s other banking stakeholders to immediately exclude the Sandy Hook families’ case from this proceeding and allow us to proceed with discovery and trial,” said Josh Koskoff, the Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder attorney representing the families. “We will take all necessary legal action to prevent these moneyed interests from denying the Sandy Hook families’ pursuit of the truth.”
The move comes after six years of repeated attempts by Remington to dismiss the litigation—even appealing all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court to squash the families claims.
Analysis
Clearly, there are numerous factors into why Remington is again filing for bankruptcy protection. The idea that the lawsuit by the Sandy Hook families is the primary — or even a partial — reason for Remington’s filing is a stretch.
We see this lawsuit itself as a misguided attempt to hold the gun industry responsible for the acts of a madman who used a stolen Bushmaster AR to kill 20 children and six educators. The lawsuit revolves around the idea that Remington’s marketing was negligent and responsible for inspiring or enabling the shooter, yet it ignores the fact that the particular gun was stolen — its use was the product of opportunity alone.
For example, if the shooter chose to steal a Colt rifle instead, would there still be a lawsuit based on Colt’s marketing tactics?
We see this as an effort to inflict financial damage to gun manufacturers who have no control over the ability of insane people to steal a firearm for destructive and deadly ends. It would be like holding a car maker responsible for a crazed person who drove into a crowd of people. It is an irresponsible misplacement of accountability that will no-doubt enrich the attorneys who are pursuing the lawsuit against Remington in the name of saving the children.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.