This is old news by now, but I wanted to report on it anyway because it’s big news: the lawsuit against Remington has been dismissed under the PLCAA. I was perhaps too quick to pass judgement on Judge Barbara Bellis when this story originally came to light. I corrected later that day after reading the opinion more thoroughly. Now it appears that Judge Bellis has done the right thing under the law:
Although PLCAA provides a narrow exception under which plaintiffs may maintain an action for negligent entrustment of a firearm, the allegations in the present case do not fit within the common-law tort of negligent entrustment under well-established Connecticut law. A plaintiff under CUTPA must allege some kind of consumer, competitor or other commercial relationship with a defendant, and the plaintiffs here have alleged no such relationship.
Remember that their theory was that selling AR-15s to civilians at all constituted negligent entrustment. If this novel theory of that concept had been allowed to proceed, it would have rendered the PLCAA effectively meaningless. It’s a good thing for us the Judge in this case wasn’t buying it.
It’s a good thing for us the Judge in this case wasn’t buying it.
Not sure I believe she wasn’t buying it. Under the PLCAA, it should have been a slam-dunk no-liability dismissal right out of the gates. So why did she go so far as to allow discovery?
That discovery wasn’t even finished, so no arguments have been made in court on the merits, but suddenly it’s fine to dismiss where eight months ago it was worth proceeding? Something smells….
Some are claiming self-promotion on the part of the judge. Everyone in firearm-related circles — both pro and anti — knows her name now. Including Hillary, who, if she becomes the next President, will be looking for names to short-list for SCOTUS (and plenty of other high-ranking federal judicial positions).
I’m not convinced this is the case, but I have to admit it’s not impossible.
Never should have been brought in the first place, but the political left has no respect for the rule of law. It’s heads they win and tails gun owners lose. We’ll get more of the same from daft and brain-damaged Hillary.