In 2000, Gus Barber was 9-years old when he was killed by a misfired Remington rifle. Since Gus’s tragic death, his father Rich has been gathering evidence about the faulty trigger design on Remington’s 700-series rifles; the defect has been a public safety hazard for more than half a century. Public Justice is now seeking to unseal critical court records that could prove Remington’s dangerous negligence.

After a defective-rifles case known as Aleksich v. Remington was settled in Montana in 1995, the entire court file was sealed off from public inspection. The defect at issue -- which causes Remington’s 700-series rifle to fire without a trigger pull -- has been alleged to have caused at least two dozen deaths and more than 100 serious injuries.

It is likely that the most comprehensive compilation of documents pertaining to the defect came to light in the Aleksich trial during the early- to mid-1990s. Remington reportedly produced boxes of materials that prove the company knew of the defect when the trigger pull was first designed in the 1940s, but failed to take any measures to protect the public.

Little else is known about the Aleksich case: the entire court file was sealed after the parties settled, and there is almost no record of the case ever having existed.

Public Justice is intervening in Aleksich on behalf of Rich Barber in order to unseal the court file. Remington continues to manufacture rifles with the defective trigger pull and contends that its rifles are safe. But since Public Justice was contacted about intervening two more deaths have been reported as a result of the defect: a 28-year-old Dallas man and a 13-year-old Tennessee boy.

According to Montana attorney Rick Ramler, Remington fought discovery in Aleksich up until the eve of trial, but then it turned over approximately eight boxes of documents after the court threatened sanctions.

Although there have been more than seventy-five lawsuits against Remington involving the same rifle trigger defect, it appears that in none of these cases has Remington produced anywhere near as many documents as in Aleksich. Public Justice’s efforts to make the Aleksich materials publicly available will not only assist other victims like Rich Barber in holding the company accountable for its wrongs, but may serve as the impetus Remington needs to finally recall these rifles and make them safe.