Press Releases
03/13/2019
AG TONG STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT'S RULING THAT SAYS SANDY HOOK FAMILIES WILL HAVE THEIR DAY IN COURT TO PROVE REMINGTON VIOLATED CUTPA
Attorney General William Tong released the following statement after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled today that Sandy Hook families should be given the opportunity to prove that Remington — the maker of the AR-15 used by the gunman in the massacre — violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA) by marketing a military-style weapon to civilians.
"I am thankful that the families who have suffered unconscionable losses can have their day in court and can hopefully find some justice. The military-type gun designed to inflict maximum lethality used by Adam Lanza to kill innocent children and adults on that tragic day should not have been marketed to civilians. Our consumer laws were designed to protect consumers from harmful commercial activities of the type alleged in the complaint," said Attorney General Tong.
The Office of the Attorney General filed an amicus brief in April 2017 that argued Sandy Hook families did not need to have a business relationship with the defendants to have standing under CUTPA, as long as they alleged they were directly harmed by the defendants' commercial activity.
The Office of the Attorney General filed the brief on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the Superior Court was wrong in dismissing the case in 2016.
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