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Old November 13, 2019, 12:56 AM   #51
Frank Ettin
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Note that the SCOTUS did not rule on the merits, i. e., it did not conclude that the plaintiffs' claim actually falls within a PLCAA exception. Remington can still, at an appropriate, later stage of the litigation, again seek a federal court ruling that the underlying suit is barred by the PLCAA.

But Remington had taken what is called an interlocutory appeal, an appeal from a non-dispositive ruling. Interlocutory appeals tend to be disfavored. So it's perhaps not a surprise that SCOTUS declined to hear it.
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Old November 13, 2019, 01:16 AM   #52
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Frank,

Given that the PLCAA was supposed to protect gunmakers from the financial burden of defending against nuisance lawsuits, wouldn't it make sense for Remington to pursue an interlocutory appeal?

I mean, for the PLCAA to have it's desired effect, it needs to come into play long before the case has been settled.

Just trying to see if I'm thinking about this right.
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Old November 13, 2019, 01:52 AM   #53
Frank Ettin
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Yes, the appeal at this point was worth a try.But courts of appeal won't necessarily hear an interlocutory appeal. That's what I meant when I said that interlocutory appeals were disfavored -- they are by the courts, not necessarily the aggrieved party.
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Old November 14, 2019, 06:03 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 44 AMP View Post
....I have a general question for our resident legal eagles, in regard to the claim of Remington being (some degree of) liable for the murders, would this be a "beyond reasonable doubt" or a "preponderance of the evidence" thing??
or some other standard I am unaware of??? perhaps a bit of both??

Does the claim Rem broke the advertising law make it a criminal matter? Would that part (breaking a law) be treated as a criminal matter and Rem's "responsibility" in the murder a civil matter with its different standards?
I haven't had time to do any research on this, but I'm going to bet on "preponderance." This is a civil matter, brought by non-government plaintiffs, so that's the usual standard of proof.

As to the question of whether it's civil or criminal . . . . We all like to think of actions as being either legal or illegal, but the issue is a little squishier than that. So here we go: Sometimes the gov't passes a law and says, "Don't do X. Doing X is a crime, punishable by . . . . " That makes X a crime. Sometimes, it passes a law that says, "Don't do Y. If you do Y and it harms someone, then they can sue you." In this case, Y isn't really a crime, but the gov't has created a private right of action against people who do Y. IOW, the gov't has made Y illegal, but isn't going to prosecute them for you. If you're harmed by someone doing Y, you have to take them to court.

As Frank noted, interlocutory appeals are disfavored. The courts don't want litigants taking every little trial court decision up on appeal. If you think the courts are clogged now, imagine what that would do. That's why the rules generally require that order be a "final order" before an appeal can be taken. The PLCAA is something of an exception to that rule, and I can't blame Remington from trying its hand there. Still, and while this is purely speculative, it may be that there simply wasn't enough evidence in for SCOTUS to hear and dismiss. Personally, I'll be watching for cross-motions for summary judgment and another round of appeals filed then. Whether or not those are heard . . . . who knows?
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Old November 14, 2019, 10:43 AM   #55
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I think it's going to be an interesting case. Someone has already pointed out that the shooter murdered his mother, ostensibly to gain access to/possession of the Bushmaster. The reports at the time of the incident seemed to suggest, however, that the mother purchased the Bushmaster because that was what he darling son wanted, and that darling son had ready access to the gun safe.

My fuzzy understanding is that the Connecticut Supreme Court allowed the lawsuit to go forward because of an exception in the PLCAA that refers to breaking a state law, and Connecticut apparently has a state law that in some way addresses the way firearms are advertised. The plaintiffs' argument is that Remington/Bushmaster's advertising violated that Connecticut law. The lawsuit was originally dismissed at the lower court level, and it was reinstated and upheld on appeal because of this particular point.

Consequently, I foresee the possibility that the defense will try to stress the point that the shooter didn't own the gun, and that he stole it in oder to arm himself for the shooting. I expect the plaintiffs to argue that, despite the fact that the mother was the purchaser on paper, she bought it because that was what her son wanted and that therefore the advertising was aimed at the son and was in violation of the law.

Stay tuned. :Popcorn:
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Old November 16, 2019, 10:02 AM   #56
Bartholomew Roberts
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At the strategic level, the gun control side probably doesn’t expect to win the case anyway. They want to get to depositions so they can go through Remington’s marketing information and figure out what will hurt it worst. They’ll pass that info on to Everytown and Bloomberg.
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Old November 16, 2019, 06:35 PM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bartholomew Roberts View Post
At the strategic level, the gun control side probably doesn’t expect to win the case anyway. They want to get to depositions so they can go through Remington’s marketing information and figure out what will hurt it worst. They’ll pass that info on to Everytown and Bloomberg.
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wire...books-67069840
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Old November 17, 2019, 10:31 AM   #58
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the amount of misinformation about this case and the Supreme Courts declining to hear the appeal at this time, and what it means, coming from both sides, in the media and from pro and anti gun organizations, is astounding.
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