On seventh anniversary of Sandy Hook, families of victims set for trial against gun-maker in 2021

HARTFORD, Conn. - A Connecticut judge said Wednesday a lawsuit by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims against Remington Arms will go to trial in September of 2021.

A survivor and relatives of nine victims of the 2012 massacre filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Remington in 2015, saying the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public and alleging it targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games.

Remington, based in Madison, North Carolina, made the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle used to kill 20 first graders and six educators at the Newtown, Connecticut, school on Dec. 14, 2012.

The Hartford Courant reported that Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis in Waterbury set the court date after nearly two hours of discussions with attorneys for Remington and the families.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in March that Remington could be sued under state law over how it marketed the rifle. The decision overturned a ruling by a state trial court judge who dismissed the lawsuit based on a federal law that shields gun-makers from liability, in most cases, when their products are used in crimes.

Remington appealed that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.