Ten families of victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are asking for their lawsuit, filed against Bushmaster, the manufacturer of the gun the shooter used in the massacre, and the distributor and seller of the gun, to be heard in Connecticut where the tragedy happened, according to the law firm representing the families.
Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder filed a motion Friday to transfer the case to Connecticut Superior Court, according to a news release sent on behalf of the law firm.
Federal courts can only "exercise jurisdiction" over a case "if the claims in the case derive from the Constitution or federal law; or if none of the defendants are from the same state as the plaintiffs," according to the law firm, which argues that this does not apply to the Newtown families or the defendants.
"The families have asserted no federal claims, and they share Connecticut citizenship with Riverview Sales, the retail store that sold the Bushmaster rifle to Nancy Lanza," the law firm said.
The case was moved to federal court last month after the defendants claimed "that that the plaintiffs’ decision to name Riverview as a defendant was 'fraudulent' and that Riverview should thus be dismissed from the case – which would allow the federal court to decide the rest of plaintiffs’ claims," according to the law firm.
“Riverview Sales, a Connecticut business, entrusted a Bushmaster rifle designed to inflict mass casualties to a Connecticut woman, whose son used that rifle to kill Connecticut residents at a Connecticut elementary school," Attorney Josh Koskoff said in a statement. "Their families continue to mourn in Connecticut.... To alleged that the joinder of them was fraudulent is bizarre.”
Koskoff argued that "“this is transparent forum shopping by Bushmaster and the other defendants to avoid answering for their conduct in state court" and said "it's completely backwards."
Local
“But the law is clear – there is simply no basis for a federal court to exercise jurisdiction in this case," he said in a statement.
