$100 Million Lawsuit Sought Against Connecticut for Failing to Provide Security

[Phoenix]

There's parents of 20 kids who would love to have their kid alive, if traumatized, if they could go back in time.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/lawyer-sue-conn-newton-survivor-psychological-trauma-article-1.1229598?localLinksEnabled=false

It’s all about the money. Has nothing to do with “security” and “safety.” Without meaningful tort reform, this is what many tragedies, accidents and willful criminal action generates; a whole heck of a lot of legal action where attorneys on both side of the fence eat up precious resources, not producing a single item of benefit for humanity, but merely legal buzzards working to strip the legal loser’s carcass to feed the legal winner’s belly. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is all it amounts to.

Man, I am sure glad I am not in the legal profession.

[bwlewis1964]

It's about lawyers using a tragedy to get rich! Nothing new here..

[Omaha Beach]

Greedy lawyers cannot proceed without greedy clients. This suit going nowhere. State has immunity unless it acted with malice and no way to prove this nut's actions were foreseeable.

[demopublican]

Obviously we knew that law suits were coming but this is fast.
I really can't stand in judgment of the families involved. The whole mess is just too damn tragic.

[Wizard777]

State Immunity prevents a state from being sued in the courts of another state and Sovereign Immunity prevents states from being sued in Federal Court. At this point I'm unsure about what the law is on suing Connecticut in their own courts. If they can't sue the state they sue the county. counties do not have sovereign immunity.

[Phoenix]

Greedy lawyers cannot proceed without greedy clients. This suit going nowhere. State has immunity unless it acted with malice and no way to prove this nut's actions were foreseeable.

I knew this before posting the thread.

Still, the fear of legal pursuit is what drives corporations to plaster "gun free zone" signs all over company property, even though some in management would like to do otherwise. Dead employees can be replaced, there are lots of people looking for work, the corporation must and will survive at all costs.

Ditto every commercial establishment where CCW are allowed: do I risk going out of business due to poor sales, or go out of business due to a lawsuit?

Right or wrong has nothing to do with it, it always has been about the money, and greed for money by the greedy sector.

[workerbee]

It's about lawyers using a tragedy to get rich! Nothing new here..

In this case it's a matter of the lawyer getting his name spelled correctly in the media.

[Gopher]

This guy has his work cut out for him. The states are immune from these types of actions in both federal and state courts. In order for him to prevail, he will have to overturn about 200 years worth of legal precedent or the State of Connecticut will have to foolishly agree to allow the suit to go forward. Hopefully the family he represents is not paying him by the hour.

[Jeebus]

Still, the fear of legal pursuit is what drives corporations to plaster "gun free zone" signs all over company property, even though some in management would like to do otherwise.

Those signs, plus the total ban on assault weapons in CT (some of the toughest gun-control laws of any state in the USA btw), the ban on bringing guns to school, not to mention the law against murder.....

...did nothing to stop the mass murder.

SO what's the solution?

Pass another law! Of Course! Why didn't we think of that!

Criminals will learn about the new law(s) and the threat of another 10 years in prison (for someone who is planning on killing themselves) will deter them.

[ms maggie]

Those signs, plus the total ban on assault weapons in CT (some of the toughest gun-control laws of any state in the USA btw), the ban on bringing guns to school, not to mention the law against murder.....

...did nothing to stop the mass murder.

SO what's the solution?

Pass another law! Of Course! Why didn't we think of that!

Criminals will learn about the new law(s) and the threat of another 10 years in prison (for someone who is planning on killing themselves) will deter them.

Was this Newtown shooter a criminal? How about the guy in Aurora? How about the guy who shot up the Sihk temple? Or Gabby Gifford?

Sense a trend? Criminals by and large kill other criminals, they're not interested in taking out a lot of innocent people for its own sake, they have other purposes.

[slapshot]

Those signs, plus the total ban on assault weapons in CT (some of the toughest gun-control laws of any state in the USA btw), the ban on bringing guns to school, not to mention the law against murder.....

...did nothing to stop the mass murder.

Ummmm....too easy for anybody to jump across the state lines and get all the firepower they desire.

This gun freak mom got all the guns legally. Too bad for all these innocent children and adults who were slaughtered by her deranged son....who, easy gained access to these guns, from gun freak mom., who, of course, got them legally.

As far as your comment about not allowing staff (or kids, for that matter) to bring guns to school - you are completely delusional if you think this will ever be allowed. You live in a parallel universe. The fact remains - every teacher in that school could have been armed, and it would have done no good. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Any perp has the element of surprise....and gaining access to a classroom in most schools, and especially suburban elementary schools, is a piece of cake. Once a perp enters a classroom, he takes out the teacher before they even know of his intent. They would never have a chance to unlock a drawer (it would have to be locked, of course) to retrieve a gun, before the perp killed them. Element of surprise trumps you, or anyone else who has a gun. Basic military training.

[Wizard777]

They can sue the State for negligence under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

[Joy in Mudville]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoZeZprXnDg

Look at all the people with guns.

[Bmoreteacher]

State Immunity prevents a state from being sued in the courts of another state and Sovereign Immunity prevents states from being sued in Federal Court. At this point I'm unsure about what the law is on suing Connecticut in their own courts. If they can't sue the state they sue the county. counties do not have sovereign immunity.

In CT, everything is run by town governments, not counties, so I'd wonder if people can sue towns (I'm from there, but I'm not sure...) I don't see how the court could find that Newtown failed to provide security. The doors had locks, the secretary did not buzz the shooter in, the classroom doors could be locked and opened in (allowing teachers to barricade the doors if they had time) and the shooting happened before police could possibly have gotten on the scene in a town the size of Newtown. What happened was an unforeseeable tragedy, but I don't see how the town or state could possibly be held liable.

[Jeebus]

As far as your comment about not allowing staff (or kids, for that matter) to bring guns to school - you are completely delusional if you think this will ever be allowed. You live in a parallel universe.

And as far as your wish to remove all guns from the planet Earth, you are completely delusional.

There are over 300 million guns in the USA.

If they banned the sale of guns tomorrow, there would still be 300 million guns.

If they required that all guns be turned in, even a 95% compliance rate (a pipe dream, but for the sake of argument we'll use that figure) would still leave 15 million guns.

That's enough to equip every person who has ever attended a Ravens home game at M&T Bank stadium over the last 15 years with their own firearm, and equip every person who attends a game for the next 12 years with one as well.

I got a better idea - why not try to catch seawater with a strainer? You'll have more success.

Continue to live in fantasy land, guns are not going anywhere.

[Jim F]

The guy's an Occupy Wall Street lawyer.

" An attorney seeking to sue Connecticut for $100 million on behalf of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor who heard Adam Lanza’s murderous rampage on a loudspeaker also serves as the official lawyer for Occupy New Haven, WND has found."

" New Haven lawyer Irving Pinsky told the Associated Press today he is filing the claim against the state on behalf of a 6-year-old female student, nicknamed “Jill Doe,” claiming the student suffered emotional and psychological trauma."

" In 1991, Pinsky represented Miss Black America in a $100-million suit against boxer Mike Tyson, alleging Tyson had placed a hand on her buttocks while they were posing for photographers."

- etc.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/occupy-wa...ok-cash/print/

No surprise there.

[Calamari]

It's about lawyers using a tragedy to get rich! Nothing new here..

Got it in one.

[kelsey59]

Was this Newtown shooter a criminal? How about the guy in Aurora? How about the guy who shot up the Sihk temple? Or Gabby Gifford?

Sense a trend? Criminals by and large kill other criminals, they're not interested in taking out a lot of innocent people for its own sake, they have other purposes.

Yup - that trend would be "life happens."

[Omaha Beach]

Was this Newtown shooter a criminal? How about the guy in Aurora? How about the guy who shot up the Sihk temple? Or Gabby Gifford?

Sense a trend? Criminals by and large kill other criminals, they're not interested in taking out a lot of innocent people for its own sake, they have other purposes.

They all became criminals the second they started shooting people.

[Omaha Beach]

Ummmm....too easy for anybody to jump across the state lines and get all the firepower they desire.

This gun freak mom got all the guns legally. Too bad for all these innocent children and adults who were slaughtered by her deranged son....who, easy gained access to these guns, from gun freak mom., who, of course, got them legally.

As far as your comment about not allowing staff (or kids, for that matter) to bring guns to school - you are completely delusional if you think this will ever be allowed. You live in a parallel universe. The fact remains - every teacher in that school could have been armed, and it would have done no good. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Any perp has the element of surprise....and gaining access to a classroom in most schools, and especially suburban elementary schools, is a piece of cake. Once a perp enters a classroom, he takes out the teacher before they even know of his intent. They would never have a chance to unlock a drawer (it would have to be locked, of course) to retrieve a gun, before the perp killed them. Element of surprise trumps you, or anyone else who has a gun. Basic military training.

Gee General Patton that might all be true in a one room schoolhouse like the Amish school where children were murdered but not in a school the size of this one. After the shooting starts in one room the teachers in the others would have time to arm themselves or would you prefer they be limited instead to throwing erasers? Basic military training indeed from the biggest phoney Vet on these posts!