The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

Sandy Hook gun lawsuit to be dramatized on the small screen

- By Rob Ryser Reach Rob Ryser at rryser@newstimes.com or 203-731-3342

NEWTOWN – The “historic” $73 million settlement that nine Sandy Hook families won from a bankrupt gun maker a year ago has captured the attention of a Beverly Hills film company that wants to turn the unlikely story into a limited series.

What about the families’ eight-year uphill wrongful death court battle against AR-15-style riflemaker Remington does Echo Lake Entertainm­ent think will appeal to millions of viewers?

“It’s more a gut reaction and a personal reaction than an analytical response. We make a film because we really believe in it,” said Mary Jane Skalski, president of production at Echo Lake. “We want to tell an authentic and honest story.”

One of the writers on the limited series will be the sister of the Sandy Hook families’ lead attorney.

It would be hard to exaggerate the odds against those who lost loved ones in the 2012 slaying of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School when nine of the families set out to hold Remington liable for recklessly marketing a military-grade weapon to civilians.

The main roadblock was a federal law shielding the gun industry from most liability when its weapons are misused. There was also the difficult legal burden of proving that the 20-year-old shooter had seen and been influenced into deadly action by Remington’s advertisin­g.

When the families’ case was thrown out of trial court in 2016 it looked as though observers were correct that the families’ case was “unwinnable” because Remington was “untouchabl­e.” But after the Connecticu­t Supreme Court sent the case back to trial court, Remington began to unravel, filing for bankruptcy for a second time in 2020, and was sold off to its competitor­s.

In the end, there was no more Remington, and its four insurers settled with the families for everything the dissolved company had left.

The settlement sent shock waves through the country, causing observers to question why insurance companies would ever look at gun manufactur­ers the same.

President Joe Biden called the settlement “historic.” During a Rose Garden speech in July about his gun safety reform plan, Biden singled out family members involved in the lawsuit, including Sandy Hook parents Nicole Hockley and Mark and Jackie Barden, and asked them to stand.

“These folks right here did more to keep all this going than anyone,” Biden said as crowd applauded. “We owe you, man. We owe you.”The status quo had changed.

“That is what is so captivatin­g about the story,” Skalski said. “It shows that we can challenge the status quo and prevail.”

It was too early Friday to discuss casting or other details of the production except that several Sandy Hook family members involved in the Remington settlement would be consulted for the production, and it would be written by Robin Swicord and Sarah Koskoff.

Sarah Koskoff is the sister of Josh Koskoff, the Sandy Hook families’ lead attorney in the Remington case.

Josh Koskoff, who will consult with the producers on the series, accepted an annual public service award from the American Associatio­n for Justice in July for his firm’s work on the Sandy Hook case.

“It is critically important that any telling of the legal effort that eventually held Remington accountabl­e be accurate, sensitive,

educationa­l and impactful,” Koskoff said Friday. “We are donating our time to help maintain realism and answer questions on complicate­d areas of the law and the legal process.”

Skalski said the script was in good hands regardless of Sarah Koskoff ’s ties to Josh Koskoff.

“Sarah is a wonderful writer and hugely important to have on the team, and we didn’t hire her because she’s Josh’s sister,”

Skalski said, noting the two worked together on the 2012 award-winning film, “Hello I Must Be Going.”

Skalski said input from Sandy Hook families would also be valued.

“We are striving for integrity and authentici­ty and accuracy, so we take everyone’s input very seriously,” Skalski said.

 ?? Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticu­t Media ?? Attorney Josh Koskoff speaks during a news conference in Trumbull, Conn. Feb. 15, 2022. Koskoff represents nine families of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims, who have agreed to a $73 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against defunct gunmaker Remington.
Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticu­t Media Attorney Josh Koskoff speaks during a news conference in Trumbull, Conn. Feb. 15, 2022. Koskoff represents nine families of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims, who have agreed to a $73 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against defunct gunmaker Remington.

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