Sandy Hook Case Tests Limits of Gun Maker Immunity

The Connecticut top court is weighing whether gun makers and dealers can be held liable for injuries and deaths that allegedly resulted from the improper marketing of military firearms to civilians.

That core question, posed in a closely-watched appeal stemming from the Sandy Hook massacre, marks the leading edge of litigation against a firearms industry that has long been largely insulated from tort suits, lawyers tell Bloomberg BNA.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers, buoyed by recent multi-million dollar verdicts against retailers over straw purchases, have at least some reason for optimism.

But a ruling going their way still appears a remote possibility in ...