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 Probate Court Judge Joseph Egan in Bethel, Connecticut approved
deals with the families of six of the 20 first-graders killed in the
Dec. 14, 2012, rampage, according to a court clerk and attorneys who
were present at the closed hearing.
Two survivors of the attack, which also killed six educators, joined
the initial lawsuit but were not part of the final settlement, which
represents the amount of a homeowners' insurance policy that gunman
20-year-old Adam Lanza's mother had held on her Newton, Connecticut
home.
One deal had been approved earlier and nine more are pending
approval at other probate courts around the state, according to
attorney Rosemarie Paine, the president of the Connecticut Trial
Lawyers Association, which arranged legal representation for the
families, each of which will receive $93,750 under the settlement.
 "While there can never be adequate compensation to offer these
families for their losses, we are pleased the probate court granted
our applications to settle these claims," Paine said.
Lanza began his rampage, one of the deadliest school shootings in
U.S. history, by fatally shooting his mother, Nancy, in their home
before driving to the school where he opened fire on students and
educators and finally shot himself dead as he heard police sirens
approaching.
The legal claims were made in two separate lawsuits filed against
Nancy Lanza's estate. Her home has since been torn down.
Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle that his mother had legally
purchased and kept in a gun safe next to her son's bedroom. Despite
a history of mental health problems, Adam Lanza had "unlimited
access" to the weapon, according to police.
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"Many of the families who suffered losses at Sandy Hook Elementary
School were faced with being unable to bring Adam Lanza to justice
or otherwise hold him or his mother accountable for what her son was
able to do because of her actions," said Randy Savicky, a spokesman
for Silver Golub & Teitell LLP, a law firm representing some of the
families.
Attorney Samuel Starks, the Lanza estate's administrator, could not
be reached for comment Thursday.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Andrew Hay)
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