The Remington Model 700 rifle is at the center of a class action lawsuit initiated by a retired Miami New Times photographer, the media outlet announced.
An avid hunter, Tim Chapman’s Remington misfired twice without warning and without his ever having pulled the trigger. The Miami New Times noted that it was due to Chapman’s savvy as a hunter that the gun was pointed skyward at the time. “My main goal is to get this rifle out of the public’s hands,” Chapman told the Miami New Times. “It is gross negligence on the part of Remington that there’s never been a recall.”
Watching a CNBC news story on the rifle prompted Chapman to contact Jordan Chaikin, an attorney with national law firm, Parker Waichman LLP, said the Miami New Times. Chapman is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that seeks financial compensation and a full recall. “I used to hunt all the time with my son. I easily could have killed him,” Chapman told the Miami New Times.
As we’ve previously mentioned, Parker Waichman LLP filed the lawsuit alongside several other distinguished law firms. Co-counsel include Bolen Robinson & Ellis, LLP; Climaco, Wilcox, Peca, Tarantino & Garofoli Co., LPA; Neblett, Beard & Arsenault; Holland, Groves, Schneller & Stolze LLC.; Levin, Fishbein, Sedran & Berman; Ramler Law Office, P.C. and Monsees, Miller, Mayer, Presley & Amick, P.C.
As we’ve written, the lawsuit alleges that Remington Model 700 rifles, manufactured by Remington Arms, can fire with no trigger pull due to its defective trigger mechanism known as the Walker Fire Control. The lawsuit also alleges that the Model 700 rifle is dangerous because of its Walker Fire Control trigger design. Unlike other firearm manufacturers, Remington’s patented Walker Fire Control utilizes an internal component—the so-called trigger “connector”—that supports the sear, another internal component. When the trigger is pulled, the trigger body pushes the connector forward; this allows the sear to fall and the rifle to fire. When the trigger is pulled and the rifle fires, the trigger body and the trigger connector create a gap.
According to the class action complaint, an array of field debris, manufacturing scrap, burrs from the manufacturing process, lubrication, and moisture can build up in the gap created during a trigger pull. The buildup can also allegedly restrict the return of the trigger connector to its proper location under the sear; this predisposes the rifle to malfunction in the absence of a trigger pull.
The Walker Fire Control was introduced in 1948 and is found in over 5 million Remington brand firearms. According to the complaint, the defendants have known about the Walker Fire Control’s design flaws even before the product was put into commerce and have also known since 1979 that at least 1 percent of all Model 700 Rifles would “trick,” allowing them to fire unexpectedly without a trigger pull.
Remington told CNBC that any unexpected firings are due to negligence or bad gun maintenance. “The Model 700, including its trigger mechanism, has been free of any defect since it was first produced,” the company said in a statement.
Chapman disagreed, telling Miami Free Times, “I’ve been hunting my entire life and never had an accident…. It’s an absolute sin for this corporation to keep hiding behind settlements instead of fixing this problem.”
