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Remington postpones settlement for trigger lawsuit
Remington Arms Company postponed finalizing its settlement agreement with a Missouri man, extending the deadline from Oct. 30 to Dec. 5.
Although the court did not specify an amount in the notice of settlement, the class action suit filed in a federal court in Missouri asks for an unspecified amount and for Remington to recall all rifles — roughly 5 million — equipped with the alleged defective trigger mechanism, the Walker Trigger Control System.
While Remington agreed to settle, it denied the allegations that its trigger was at fault. Also, sources close to the company say it’s unlikely the company will recall any or all models equipped with the design in question.
The plaintiff, Ian Pollard, a resident of Concordia, Missouri, filed suit after he said his Remington 700 rifle fired unexpectedly three times since he bought it in 2000.
However, the significance of the case is how the complaint targeted the trigger and Remington’s knowledge of potential issues. For the past three decades, Remington has been targeted with dozens of lawsuits over the WTC system, or more specifically, when featured on the Model 700.
After so many defendants claimed the rifle fired on its own, sometimes ending fatally, and Remington even conducted an internal investigation with similar conclusions, the complaint argues Remington knowingly sold a defective product.
In 2000, 9-year-old Gus Barber was shot when his mother unloaded her Model 700 and it unexpectedly discharged. For her, releasing the safety discharged a round, which flew through a horse trailer and ultimately hit the boy in the hand and stomach. He later died at the hospital.
However, others ended less tragically, but still with serious injuries.
In a 1994 case in Texas, a jury awarded $17 million to a man who lost his foot.
In 1978, John Coates, of Austin, Texas, was paralyzed by an unintended firing of his Model 600 rifle. Remington’s insurance company settled with Coates for $6.8 million.
The post Remington postpones settlement for trigger lawsuit appeared first on Guns.com.
Source: http://www.guns.com/2014/10/27/remington-postpones-settlement-for-trigger-lawsuit/
