A company that made a rifle used in one of the US's deadliest school shootings has settled with the families of victims for US$73 million (NZ$110m).
Some of the families of those who were killed in the Sandy Hook mass shooting have campaigned for gun reform in the US since the tragedy. Photo: AFP
The settlement from Remington Arms comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the families of nine of 26 victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.
The case marks the first time a gun-maker has faced liability for a mass shooting.
The families say Remington was negligent.
Each family will receive a share of the settlement, but other details of the deal were not disclosed.
Remington had previously argued that it was protected from the lawsuit because of a 2005 federal statute known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Plcaa), which protects gun makers, distributors and vendors from civil liability in cases in which their weapons are used in crimes committed by third parties.
Josh Koskoff, a lawyer representing the families, noted that the "seemingly insurmountable" legislation had led many experts to dismiss the lawsuit as "a losing possibility".
To make their case, the legal team instead argued that Remington's marketing was an unfair trade practice, illegal under Connecticut law - which meant that the Plcaa's legal protection did not apply and the case could move forward.
In their lawsuit, the families of five children and four adults who died in the shooting argued the company marketed its weapons to high-risk and potentially unstable individuals such as Sandy Hook gunman Adam Lanza.
One example cited by Koskoff featured an image of a rifle along with the words "consider your man card reissued". The lawsuit alleged that the campaign formed part of a larger - and "aggressive" marketing effort that included product placement in video games.
"I had thought the case was about the gun, but it's just as much about the greed," he said at a news conference on Tuesday.
A child holds a montage of the 20 child victims who died in the mass shooting. (File pic) Photo: AFP
Koskoff said that "it is hard to imagine a better outcome" for the families of the victims, who he said have been focused on "preventing the next Sandy Hook".
The statement released by Koskoff following the settlement included testimony from relatives of victims of the attack.
"Our loss is irreversible, in the sense this outcome is neither redemptive nor restorative," said Lenny Pozner and Veronique De la Rosa, whose six-year-old son, Noah, was killed.
"What is lost remains lost," they added. "However, the resolution does provide a measure of accountability in an industry that has thus far operated with impunity."
The $73m sum is the full amount of coverage available from Remington's four insurers - a fact that Koskoff said could have a potentially far-reaching impact on the US gun industry.
"This victory should serve as a wake-up call, not only to the gun industry, but also the insurance and banking companies that prop it up," he added. "For the insurance and banking industries, it's time to recognise the financial cost of underwriting companies that elevate profit by escalating risk."
Last July, Remington - the oldest gun-maker in the US - offered US$33m to the families, falling far short of the $225m they had sought in court. They rejected the offer and said they had collected enough evidence to prove misconduct from Remington.
Remington, which was founded in 1816 and is based in North Carolina, has denied the allegations and claimed that there was no evidence that its marketing practices were related to the shooting at Sandy Hook.
The company could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
Twenty children and six teachers were killed at the 2012 school shooting in Connecticut, shocking a country already familiar with mass shootings and gun crimes in schools.
Despite the deaths of young children aged six and seven, no new national gun control laws were passed in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting.
- BBC