Most Gun Owners May Be Excluded From Remington Rifle Class Action Lawsuit

One expert is warning that most owners of Remington 700 rifles will miss being involved in a class action settlement over claims that they have defective triggers. 

According to a report by Law.com, an amicus letter filed last week warns that most of the 7.5 million potential participants of the Remington rifle settlement agreement will miss the opportunity to participate because of a failure to effectively notify them of the potential to join the class action.

The letter is backed by concerns voiced by U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith in December, who noted that the notice plan only drew 2,327 participants.

The Remington class-action lawsuit settlement was reached in a federal court in Missouri in December, including an agreement that Remington will retrofit an estimated 7.85 million Model 700 and Seven series rifles free of charge.

The Remington Rifles being recalled have been criticized for having faulty trigger designs, which may have been assembled with an excessive bonding agent that could allow the firearms to spontaneously discharge under certain situations.

A number of Remington rifle class action lawsuits were filed in 2013, including one by Ian Pollard, a resident of Missouri whose Remington 700 rifle fired on several occasions even though he didn’t pull the trigger.

The complaints claimed that Remington failed to recognize the possibly safety hazards associated with the certain models as well as negligence, breach of warranty, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and fraudulent concealment.

In June, attorneys on both sides issued a revised notification plan which would use emails, radio ads and Facebook to attempt to reach potential participants, following claims that the notices were insufficient, using ads on the internet, in magazines and social media to reach gun owners.

Customers who have already had their trigger assemblies replaced will be reimbursed by Remington after showing receipt of the service.

Over the last few years, Remington received reports indicating at least 24 deaths and more than 100 serious injuries may have been caused by the faulty trigger systems on Remington rifles that accidentally or spontaneously discharged.

In April, a Remington rifle recall was announced for Model 700 and Model Seven rifles with X-Mark Pro (XMP) triggers. However, the recall only affected Remington 700 and Seven model rifles manufactured between May 1, 2006 and April 9, 2014.