Defective Remington 597 17 HMR Semiautomatic Rifle Class Action Lawsuit

Do you own a Remington 597 17 HMR semiautomatic rifle? You may want to be careful which ammunition you use. A federal class action lawsuit claims the rifle explodes if used with Cascade Cartridge/CCI Ammunition’s ammo, and that Remington issued an inadequate recall notice.

The Remington class action lawsuit claims Remington sold tens of thousands of defective Remington 597 semiautomatic rifles and possibly millions of the 17 HMR ammunition sold under its private label agreement with Co-Defendant CCI Ammunition.

In August 2009, Remington made its first public statements acknowledging that its Remington 597 HMR semiautomatic rifles may explode while using 17 HMR ammunition and warned consumers to discontinue use of both products immediately. However, Remington’s efforts to notify owners and users of the 597 was limited to a Safety Warning and Recall Notice posted on its website – a hugely inadequate recall notice that left many consumers in the dark about the danger of using the 597, the lawsuit says.

The defective Remington 597 class action lawsuit also challenges the offer made in conjunction with the recall, which the suit claims is equally inadequate: a $200 or $250 coupon for the purchase of a replacement Remington firearm and a $10 coupon for a box of 50 rounds of Remington 17 HMR ammunition.

“The coupon for purchase of a firearm was well below the purchase price paid by [Class Members] for the Model 597 17 HMR semiautomatic rifle and required [consumers] to purchase a new firearm in order to redeem the coupon,” the Remington 597 class action lawsuit states. Not only that, but the “coupon for purchase of ammunition was well below the purchase price paid” for the 17 HMR ammunition, and also required consumers to purchase new ammunition in order to redeem the coupon.

Furthermore, those who purchased 17 HMR ammunition manufactured by CCI but labeled under a brand other than Remington, such as Federal, were offered no compensation for the ammunition they purchased to use in the rifle.

As a result of Remington and CCI’s negligent design, manufacture and marketing, as well as unfair and deceptive acts regarding the Remington Model 597 17 HMR semiautomatic rifle and Remington 17 HMR ammunition, consumers received “defective and unreasonably dangerous products for which they substantially overpaid because the rifle and ammunition were useless,” the class action lawsuit states.

The Remington 597 17 HMR class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of a proposed class of all U.S. residents who owned a Remington Model 597 17 HMR semiautomatic rifle or any type of 17 HMR ammunition manufactured by CCI Ammunition that was purchased for use in that firearm.

It is seeking actual damages (including multiple damages) or statutory damages, whichever is greater. It is also asking the Court to force Remington to re-issue the recall notice in a “commercially viable manner,” including direct communications with known owners of the rifle and publication in widely read media.

A copy of the Defective Remington 597 17 HMR Semiautomatic Rifle Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.

The case is William S. Yancey v. Remington Arms Company, LLC; Cascade Cartridge, Inc. a/k/a CCI Ammunition, Case No. 11-cv-00108, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee.