A lawsuit against rifle company Smith &, Wesson and two additional gun dealers linked to the July Fourth 2022 mass shooting in Highland Park may be allowed to move forward, a Lake County judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge Jorge Ortiz denied Smith &, Wesson’s motions to dismiss works of unfair business practices and neglect but granted a motion to ignore complaints around deceptive business practices in a 34-page choice.
Ortiz even denied a activity to reject filed by the other two gun dealers named in the case, Red Dot Arms in Lake Villa and Budsgunshop.com. Doctors and activists hailed the choice as a “major success” for the defendants in the case, who were injured or lost family members in the shooting.
Survivors of the shooting and its victims , first accused Smith &, Wesson of “negligent and unlawful marketing”  , targeting people such as Robert Crimo III in September 2022. The claims, then consolidated into one circumstance, also alleged that Red Dot Arms and Bud’s Gun Shop in Kentucky both facilitated Crimo’s order of M&, P 15, an AR-15-style tool produced by the gunmaker. Crimo pleaded guilty to carrying out the killing last month with that tool.
” Today’s historic choice sends a clear message that the gun market does not have carte blanche to indulge in reckless promotion of assault rifle, without any concern for the obvious consequences of such promotion”, a group of lawyers representing the defendants said in a statement.
Attorneys for Smith &, Wesson didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Crimo, now 24,  , pleaded guilty to the criminal charges against him , on March 3 in an about-face that relieved survivors of the shooting and their families, who had been preparing to recount their experiences of that day in court.
Crimo’s father, Robert Crimo Jr., pleaded guilty in 2023 to seven counts of misdemeanor reckless conduct for sponsoring his son’s firearm license application. Crimo Jr. was ordered to spend 60 days in Lake County Jail but was freed early for good behavior.
Another flurry of lawsuits was still pending against the Illinois State Police for approving Crimo’s firearm owner’s identification card application despite concerns he was a danger to public safety.
The civil case is next set for a hearing May 1. Crimo is set to be sentenced April 23.
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