CT Supreme Court To Hear Case Against Gun Companies Brought By Newtown Families
HARTFORD (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Connecticut Supreme Court is going to hear an appeal from the families of nine Sandy Hook victims and one survivor in their case against the sellers of the AR-15 used in the December, 2012 shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Calling the Newtown massacre a "singular event in Connecticut history," the families are appealing the decision of a Bridgeport Superior Court judge to dismiss the case.
Two weeks after the families filed their appeal, the court transferred the case to its own docket, allowing the lawsuit to bypass the Appellate Court and be heard directly by the state's highest court.
"We are grateful that the Connecticut Supreme Court will hear our case immediately," said Nicole Hockley, whose son, Dylan, was killed in the Newtown shooting. "Our goal is and always has been to help prevent the next Sandy Hook, and today is an important step in that direction."
"This case raises critical questions about reasonableness and accountability in an era where combat rifles are deliberately marketed as weapons of war, no matter how many schools are transformed into battlefields as a result," said attorney Katie Mesner-Hage.
The suit alleges that the AR-15 assault weapon used in the shooting was negligently entrusted to the public, and that the defendants violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) in aggressively and unethically marketing the AR-15 to the public.
In their decision to hear the case, the court accepted the families' argument that the meaning of certain language in CUTPA must be determined by the state Supreme Court.