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Judge Dismisses Lawsuit By Newtown Families Against Gun Maker

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBSNewYOrk/AP) -- A Connecticut judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Remington Arms, the maker of the semiautomatic rifle used by the shooter in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The families of nine children and adults killed at the Newtown school and a teacher who survived the attack sued the parent company of Bushmaster Firearms, which made the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis on Friday granted a motion by the Madison, North Carolina-based company to strike the lawsuit, citing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act passed by Congress in 2005 that protected gun makers from such lawsuits.

The families' lawyers said their lawsuit was allowed under an exception to the act, but Bellis disagreed.

The case was heard in Bridgeport, where the company was once headquartered.

On Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, 20, shot and killed 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School, before turning the gun on himself. Lanza killed his mother before the school massacre.

Last year, more than a dozen victims' families split $1.5 million under settlements of lawsuits filed against the estate of the gunman's mother.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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