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Connecticut Court to Hear Appeal in Newtown Shooting Case

The Connecticut Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of families whose wrongful-death lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre was dismissed.
In this Jan. 28, 2013, file photo, firearms training unit Detective Barbara J. Mattson, of the Connecticut State Police, holds up a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, the same make and model of gun used by Adam Lanza in the Sandy Hook School shooting, for a demonstration during a hearing of a legislative subcommittee reviewing gun laws, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn. Lawyers for a survivor and relatives of nine killed in the shooting filed papers Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, asking the state Supreme Court to hear their appeal of a wrongful-death lawsuit dismissed in October 2016 against Remington Arms.
In this Jan. 28, 2013, file photo, firearms training unit Detective Barbara J. Mattson, of the Connecticut State Police, holds up a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, the same make and model of gun used by Adam Lanza in the Sandy Hook School shooting, for a demonstration during a hearing of a legislative subcommittee reviewing gun laws, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn. Lawyers for a survivor and relatives of nine killed in the shooting filed papers Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, asking the state Supreme Court to hear their appeal of a wrongful-death lawsuit dismissed in October 2016 against Remington Arms.Jessica Hill / AP file

HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of families whose wrongful-death lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre was dismissed.

The high court decided Tuesday to bypass a lower appellate court and hear the case. Arguments have not been scheduled.

In this Jan. 28, 2013, file photo, firearms training unit Detective Barbara J. Mattson, of the Connecticut State Police, holds up a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, the same make and model of gun used by Adam Lanza in the Sandy Hook School shooting, for a demonstration during a hearing of a legislative subcommittee reviewing gun laws, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn. Lawyers for a survivor and relatives of nine killed in the shooting filed papers Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, asking the state Supreme Court to hear their appeal of a wrongful-death lawsuit dismissed in October 2016 against Remington Arms.
In this Jan. 28, 2013, file photo, firearms training unit Detective Barbara J. Mattson, of the Connecticut State Police, holds up a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle, the same make and model of gun used by Adam Lanza in the Sandy Hook School shooting, for a demonstration during a hearing of a legislative subcommittee reviewing gun laws, at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn. Lawyers for a survivor and relatives of nine killed in the shooting filed papers Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, asking the state Supreme Court to hear their appeal of a wrongful-death lawsuit dismissed in October 2016 against Remington Arms.Jessica Hill / AP file

A gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators with a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle at the Newtown school in December 2012.

A survivor and relatives of nine people who died sued Bushmaster's parent company, Madison, North Carolina-based Remington Outdoor Co. They alleged Remington violated state law by selling a dangerous weapon to the public.

A trial court judge dismissed the lawsuit in October, citing a federal law that shields gun manufacturers from most lawsuits over criminal use of their products.