NEWTOWN, CT – UNSPECIFED DATE: In this handout crime scene evidence photo provided by the Connecticut State Police, shows the exterior of the Sandy Hook Elementary School following the December 14, 2012 shooting rampage, taken on an unspecified date in Newtown, Connecticut. A second report was released December 27, 2013 by Connecticut State Attorney Stephen Sedensky III gave more details of the the Newtown school shooting that left 20 children and six women educators dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School. (Photo by Connecticut State Police via Getty Images)
Several families suing Remington Arms filed a motion to keep school records sealed for five children and four educators who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
In a recent subpoena, Remington Arms petitioned the court to release what Sandy Hook parents' lawyer Joshua Koskoff calls "protected information." This includes employment files as well as kindergarten and first grade educational records, the motion states.
According to the motion, Remington Arms' request calls for the records of Jesse Lewis, Daniel Barden, Dylan Hockley, Benjamin Wheeler and Noah Pozner - the five schoolchildren whose parents are a part of the lawsuit.
The firearm company's subpoena also calls for the records of Rachel Marie D'Avino, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Joy Sherlach and Victoria Soto - all educators killed in the elementary school shooting.
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Remington Arms' subpoena, which was served in mid-July, petitions for the children's "application and admission paperwork, attendance records, transcripts, report cards, [and] disciplinary records," court documents show.
Another Remington Arms subpoena seeks "any and all employment and earnings records including, but not limited to, payroll ledgers, wage records, attendance records, medical and insurance records, resumes, termination letters," and more, according to court records.
"We have no explanation for why Remington subpoenaed the Newtown Public School District to obtain the kindergarten and first grade academic, attendance and disciplinary records of these five school children. The records cannot possibly excuse Remington’s egregious marketing conduct, or be of any assistance in estimating the catastrophic damages in this case. The only relevant part of their attendance records is that they were at their desks on December 14, 2012," Koskoff told NBC Connecticut.
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On Aug. 12, notices of deposition were served to each of the nine families. In these depositions, Remington Arms is expected to question the families about these documents, as well as other highly confidential medical records, the motion said.
Koskoff told officials that the families he represents do not understand why Remington Arms would invade their privacy with such a request, the motion reads.
On behalf of the Sandy Hook families, Koskoff asked the court to include private educational, employment and medical records and information in the category of "protected information."
Relatives of nine victims killed in the shooting previously said in their lawsuit that Remington Arms should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public and allege it targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games. They say their focus is on preventing future mass shootings.
Five years ago, the Connecticut Supreme Court decided to allow the families to pursue their case against Remington Arms based on the marketing of the AR-15 style firearm used by the shooter. Remington Arms argued that it was immune from the lawsuit because of the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, court records show.
NBC Connecticut has reached out to Remington Arms for comment but has not yet heard back.
