Newtown School Shooting Lawsuit Notice Withdrawn By Attorney

Newtown, CT — The attorney who planned to file a $100 million lawsuit against the state of Connecticut for damages on behalf of a surviving Sandy Hook Elementary School student is putting the legal action on hold.

New Haven lawyer Irv Pinsky was seeking permission from the state to sue on behalf of six-year-old “Jill Doe” (a legally acceptable pseudonym in a sensitive case) for emotional and psychological trauma and injury as a result of the December 14 shooting rampage. His client is said to be traumatized after hearing “cursing, screaming, and shooting” over the school intercom when the perpetrator commenced his massacre two weeks ago.

Pinsky now says he is dropping the request to bring a case against the state Board of Education, the state Department of Education, and the Education Commissioner for failing to protect the child from foreseeable harm, but the legal hiatus likely will only be temporary.

According to the Hartford Courant,

“Irving Pinsky said that he withdrew the filing because he received new evidence, though he reserves the right to refile for permission to sue.

” ‘I received the evidence, but I haven’t verified it yet,’ he said, declining to elaborate on what type of evidence it was or when he would reconsider filing.”

Foreseeability is an important component of any civil case for personal injury. Moreover, state and federal government entities are often shielded from lawsuits by a legal doctrine known as “sovereign immunity,” unless the sovereign — i.e, the federal or state government — grants permission for the case to go forward in court.

In this instance, a claim– if or when it is revived — must be either approved or denied by Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. before the lawsuit can officially be levied against the state of Connecticut.

Pinsky stated previously that he filed the original notice — which proved to be very controversial and sparked outrage in social media — to freeze the evidence before it can be “shaped” by insurance companies.

Hartford’s WFSB Channel 3 contacted Attorney Pinsky about the withdrawal of the pre-lawsuit notice, the paperwork for which apparently has not been officially submitted:

” ‘We will reserve all rights anyways so what’s the difference,’ he said.

“Pinsky said he apologized for offending anyone, but he said people were upset about him filing ‘too early.’

” ‘But, the sooner you get the evidence the better off you are,’ he said.”

In a horrible tragedy of this magnitude, lawsuits will be coming from all directions. Once the inevitable cases begin to be filed, expect that there will be many different defendants named, some of whom will be dismissed along the way.