Newtown asks judge to toss lawsuit filed by parents

HARTFORD, Conn. — The town of Newtown and its Board of Education asked a judge to throw out the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of two children killed during the Sandy Hook shootings in December 2012.

The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in January 2015, alleges security measures at the school weren’t adequate when Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 first-graders and six educators. Among other things, it cites that classroom doors could not be locked from the inside.

The lawsuit was brought by the estates of 6-year-olds Noah Pozner and Jesse Lewis. The other victims’ parents aren’t part of the lawsuit. The town had earlier rejected an offer to settle the suit for $11 million, the maximum amount that could be paid under the town’s insurance policy.

In their June 30 motion for summary judgment, the town argues it has governmental immunity from such lawsuits and there is no basis to argue that school officials were negligent.

“Simply alleging that the defendants’ teachers, administrators, or staff failed to act a specific way prior to or in the middle of such a shocking tragedy, when six of them gave their lives to protect the children of the school, is not enough to create a genuine issue of material fact,” they argued.

But attorney Don Papcsy, who represents the Lewis and Pozner estates, said there were hundreds of school shootings before Newtown, and the town should have had adequate protocols in place to protect the students at Sandy Hook.

“We just want our children to come home at the end of the school day,” Papcsy said, noting the town’s motion was filed on what would have been Jesse Lewis’ 11th birthday.