Conn. Supreme Court Grants Gun Maker Remington's Motion to Stay Sandy Hook Litigation

[Aim1]

This is good news.

Wondering what their chance of being granted cert and then winning in SCOTUS under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is?










https://www.law.com/ctlawtribune/20...andy-hook-litigation/?slreturn=20190404111219

 

[CapnMac]

Wondering what their chance of being granted cert and then winning in SCOTUS under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is?

Well, given this is all pre-trial motions, there really s not a "case" to bring to any court.

CT SC dismissed a previous motion in this case already, which was hailed as a great victory for the antis.

If the stay is upheld, then the original proceeding comes to a stop and the case is dismissed.

We'd need the opinion of a legal scholar to determine if that is some special reinforcement to PLCA statutes, or just the statute doing what it is supposed to.

 

[Frank Ettin]

This sort of thing is fairly common in the normal course of this kind of complex litigation.

1. Remember, this is at the pleading stage, so for the purposes of deciding motions to dismiss, all facts alleged in the complaint are assumed to be true.
   
   
2. The latest ruling by the Connecticut Supreme Court has served to keep the litigation alive by finding that (1) assuming everything alleged in the compliant is true, the complaint states a valid claim under a Connecticut consumer protection law; and (2) the claim under the Connecticut consumer protection law falls within an exception to the immunity provided in federal law, i. e., the Protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
   
   
3. The the question of whether the state law claim is outside the protection provided by the PLCAA is potentially dispositive. If the Connecticut Supreme Court is wrong about the meaning and application of the PLCAA, the lawsuit is over, the plaintiff loses, and everyone can go home.
   
   
4. The definitive decision about what the federal law means and how it applies would come from the U. S. Supreme Court. If SCOTUS sides with the defendants the case is over. If not, or if SCOTUS declines to hear the case at this point, everyone will need to spend a lot more time and money proceeding with the litigation until it's concluded at the trial court level.
   
   
5. And after a decision at the trial court level, the losing side will be able to appeal. So the case could wind up going on for some time, at considerable expense.
   
   
6. So there's a possibility, but not a certainty, that the case can be over right away. Otherwise, it will continue, at considerable expense; and the plaintiff could still lose.
   
   
7. And since if SCOTUS takes the case and sides with the defendants, everything is done, it makes good sense for the Connecticut Supreme Court stop things in the Connecticut courts for now.