The attorneys representing the Sandy Hook families in their lawsuit against gun manufacturers Remington and Bushmaster went after the gun makers’ legal claims in their latest court filings, accusing them of being inaccurate, misleading, and distorting the real meaning of negligent entrustment.
In their 36-page brief filed with the Connecticut Supreme Court late Friday, the families argue the gun makers are “distorting” the negligent entrustment doctrine, which is a focus of their argument. “Defendants appear to suggest that the entrustor of a firearm can be liable for negligent entrustment only if it has specific knowledge about the particular person who uses the weapon to cause harm,” the brief states. “Defendants thus emphasize that they lacked specific knowledge about the dangerous propensities of Adam Lanza (the Sandy Hook shooter). This amounts to another unfounded restriction on foreseeability in the negligent entrustment context, which courts have repeatedly rejected.”
