A federal judge in Kansas City, MO, has given preliminary approval to the class-action settlement proposal involving approximately 7.85 million allegedly defective Remington bolt action firearms. Under the proposed settlement, Remington will offer to replace the trigger systems with a different trigger, free of charge.
Remington continues to insist the guns are safe, and claims all the unintentional firing incidents were the result of user error or improper maintenance. The company said it’s agreeing to the settlement now in order to settle the issue once and for all. Cerberus Capital Management, which owns the Freedom Group, which in turn owns Remington, has been trying to exit the gun business since 2012.
The proposed settlement includes Remington models 700, Seven, Sportsman 78, 673, 710, 715, 770, 600, 660, XP-100, 721, 722 and 725, all of which contain a trigger connector. The newer 700 series with the X-Mark Pro trigger is not affected.
The preliminary approval begins a roughly six-month period during which gun owners and other interested parties can formally object to the settlement. A hearing to consider final approval of the settlement is set for Dec. 14.