Attorney Patrick Dunphy was interviewed by CNN regarding a lawsuit against Bushmaster Remington, which claims the gun manufacturer provided firearms to the criminal who was civilly responsible for the Sandy Hook massacre. During the interview, Mr. Dunphy discussed the negligent entrustment theory, which states that if a person has reasonable cause to believe that the person to whom they are selling the gun will misuse the firearm, that person cannot sell that gun. Mr. Dunphy explained that Remington is considered both a manufacturer and seller and could be held liable under negligent entrustment.
This is the same theory Mr. Dunphy used during the Milwaukee Badger Guns case, which involved several police officers who were shot while responding to shots fired during a drug investigation. Mr. Dunphy believes this same theory can be applied to the Sandy Hook case, where 26 individuals suffered fatal injuries due to a single shooter using a Remington AR-15.
Later in the interview, Mr. Dunphy stated the way Remington markets their AR-15 is unreasonable and markets to people who are likely to use the guns in a military fashion in a civilian setting. When theCNN interviewer asked how negligent entrustment can be used to stop companies from marketing to dangerous persons, Mr. Dunphy commented on the responsibility of the criminal courts. He stated that criminal courts must take care of the people who pull the trigger, adding, “That is after the fact, after the carnage. That is after it’s all happened. The important thing about this law, about negligent entrustment, [is that] you take care of the problem before the trigger is pulled.”
When speaking about the presidential election and the ongoing conversation regarding gun control in the United States, Mr. Dunphy commented, “You cannot walk away from the gun violence in this country […] It has to be part of the presidential debate. He also commented that given the inability of the Congress to pass gun related laws, “the courts are the only option left for the American people to get some kind of justice and get some kind of change.”
View attorney Patrick Dunphy’s interview withCNN here.