Today, Public Justice made over 133,000 previously-sealed documents on the Remington Arms Company available on a new website, www.remingtondocuments.com. These documents shine a bright light on a dark practice. The documents show Remington knew for decades that the trigger in the Remington Model 700—the most popular bolt-action rifle in America—and a dozen other Remington models could fire when no one pulled it. Remington denied that fact, hid the defect, and kept selling the rifles.
TMLG attorney Beth Terrell and paralegal Jennifer Boschen worked closely with Public Justice to unseal the documents and make consumers and gun owners aware of the rifle’s potential dangers. Court secrecy, including confidential settlements and ‘protective orders’ sealing important records, hid important evidence. As a result, hundreds of people were maimed or killed—and millions are still at risk. Publicizing these documents will help prevent injuries and save lives.
In 2010, CNBC reported on internal documents showing that Remington knew of the defect for decades but had not recalled rifles or warned the public. By then, the company had been sued at least 75 times, more than 100 people had been injured and two dozen had been killed. In December 2015, CNBC published an investigative report and aired a one-hour special, Remington Under Fire: The Reckoning, based in part on some of the recently released documents. Public Justice’s new Remington Rifle Trigger Defect Documents website makes them public so people who own these rifles can protect themselves, their loved ones, and others.
Over 7.5 million Remington 700 and other rifles with the defective trigger are still in gun owners’ hands. A proposed settlement in Pollard v. Remington Arms, a national class action in federal court in Kansas City, MO, would provide free trigger replacements to all owners of Remington Model 700, Seven, Sportsman 78, 673, 710, 715, and 770 rifles who file claims. Everyone who owns one or more of these rifles should stop using them and submit a claim for each rifle. In this case, every claim filed could potentially save a life.
For more information on how Public Justice is standing up for consumers, read this post by Arthur Bryant of the Public Justice Foundation.