Connecticut Supreme Court reverses lower court allowing case against gun manufacturer to go forward -- UPDATED

In a 4-3 opinion issued on March 14 (available here), the Connecticut Supreme Court has cleared the way for families of children killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School to proceed with a lawsuit against Remington, which manufactured the AR-15 Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle that was used during the school shooting. 

The court held that Remington can be sued over its marketing practices under a Connecticut state law, despite protections offered to gun manufacturers by federal law.  Specifically, the court held that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act protects gun manufacturers and sellers from liability for the acts of people who use their weapons, but not from a claim under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act based on allegations that Remington and other defendants were involved in the selling of a weapon that was designed for military use, knowing it had no legitimate civilian purposes and could only be effectively used by civilians for criminal activity.

You can read more details on the story in NPR, AboutLawsuits, Jurist, Courthouse news, the Legal Profession blog and The ABA Journal.

UPDATE (3/19/19):  TortsProf blog has posted a comment here.