Remington Loses Class Action Suit Over Defective Trigger


Precious Seguin told the Louisiana court she was hunting with her family in the fall of 2013 when her father’s Remington 710 bolt action rifle discharged. She was shot in the buttocks, with the bullet traveling through her hip and exiting her elbow.

The Seguin family brought the case under The Louisiana Products Liability Act, which provides consumers with reimbursement for damages caused by faulty products.

Seguin’s father was carrying the rifle over his shoulder when he says it caught on a tree branch, which flung the rifle back and dislodged the safety.

Remington claimed independent testing found the firearm only charged when the trigger was pulled. They also pointed to a statement Seguin’s father made to local law enforcement officers, stating the firearm was accidentally discharged by a tree branch.”

The Seguin attorney noted that the trigger in question, the Walker Fire Control, has been the subject of more than 4,000 documented complaints and around a dozen deaths.

Remington has publicized the class action settlement and tried to get gun owners to have their trigger mechanisms replaced.

The class action lawsuit claims that trigger mechanisms with a component part known as a trigger connector are defectively designed and can result in accidental discharges without the trigger being pulled. The lawsuit further claims that from May 1, 2006 to April 9, 2014, the X-Mark Pro® trigger mechanism assembly process created the potential for the application of an excess amount of bonding agent, which could cause Model 700 or Seven bolt-action rifles containing such trigger mechanisms to discharge without a trigger pull under certain limited conditions.”

In making the settlement offer, Remington denied any wrongdoing. It acknowledge that the plaintiffs contend the “value and utility of these firearms have been diminished as a result of these alleged defects.”

The firearms manufacturer said those in the settlement class, as defined by their ownership of the products in question, may be entitled to the following:

(1) have their trigger mechanism retrofitted with a new X-Mark Pro or other connectorless trigger mechanism at no cost to the class members; (2) receive a voucher code for Remington products redeemable at Remington’s online store; and/or (3) be refunded the money they spent to replace their Model 700 or Seven’s original Walker trigger mechanism with an X-Mark Pro trigger mechanism.”

The trigger controversy provided a bonanza for trial lawyers. In addition, the total cost of the trigger repair is estimated to be around $488 million. More than 7.5 million Remington gun owners are believe affected by the class action judgment by U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith.

Source: Bearing Arms



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