An empty baby seat and abandoned food on the Central Avenue route following the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade. Seven people were killed in the mass shooting at the parade. A lawsuit against gun maker Smith & Wesson and the gun and ammunition sellers is advancing in Lake County Circuit Court. (Karie Angell Luc photo)

A civil lawsuit seeking damages on behalf of a victim in the 2022 Highland Park Independence Day Parade shootings, along with a group of survivors and families of children, is being allowed to proceed.

Lake County Circuit Court Judge Jorge Ortiz denied a motion to dismiss the case, during a hearing Monday.

The dismissal motion was entered by attorneys for gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, which made the AR-15 weapon used in the shooting. Also named were BudsGunShop.com and Red Dot Arms of Lake Villa, which sold the gun and ammunition magazines to the shooter, Robert Crimo III. Robert Crimo Jr., his father, is also named.

Ortiz denied Smith & Wesson’s motions to dismiss the plaintiffs’ unfair business practices and negligence claims, but did grant dismissal of the plaintiff’s deceptive business practices claims.

The court also denied motions to dismiss filed by Red Dot and Bud’s Gun Shop in their entirety.

The lawsuit was originally filed by Connecticut-based Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder PC in June. The same firm also represented families involved in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shootings.

“Edward Uvaldo…lost his life in a mass shooting that resulted from one of the most extraordinary abuses in

Abandoned chairs on Central Avenue (Karie Angell Luc photo)

American corporate history,” said Alinor Sterling, a partner at the Connecticut law firm. “(The) decision brings Mr. Uvaldo’s family one step closer to holding Smith & Wesson, and these gun dealers, accountable.”

The complaint alleges that the gun manufacturer continued marketing and selling the M&P 15, an assault weapon, to teenagers constituted a “negligent entrustment” and violated an Illinois consumer protection law in its promotions. It alleges that the weapon’s marketing was “unfair and deceptive.”

“Tragically, Mr. Uvaldo’s life ended on Independence Day in what has become an American tradition…innocent victims murdered in mass shootings carried out with a weapon of war,” said attorney Josh Koskoff. “It’s about time that Smith & Wesson answers for its actions, and we’re grateful that we will now have our day in court.”

Robert Crimo III, 24, was convicted of firing on a crowd of parade goers from a rooftop, using the weapon and three 30-round magazine clips, in the Highland Park downtown area on July 4, 2022. Seven people were killed and 48 people were injured in the shooting.

Crimo pleaded guilty to 69 charges on March 3, before the case went to trial.

His sentencing is slated for April 23.

Romanucci & Blandin and Wallace Miller, both based in Chicago, and Everytown Law, representing more than 40 victims of the shooting, filed a lawsuits against the same defendants in 2022.

A Highland Park resident checks what is happening in the shooting’s aftermath. (Karie Angell Luc photo)

Following Monday’s ruling, they issued a joint statement, saying, “(The) historic decision sends a clear message that the gun industry does not have carte blanche to engage in irresponsible marketing of assault rifles, without any concern for the obvious dangers of such marketing. We are also pleased that our claims against the firearms retailers for selling an assault rifle to someone who lived in a town where he was prohibited from having one are allowed to go forth. We are steadfast in our fight to hold the defendants accountable for the damage their conduct has caused, and look forward to the truth coming out as this case proceeds to discovery.”

In another joint statement, the law firms said, “The members of the Highland Park community…have been patiently waiting for justice to be served.

“However, the guilty plea on 69 counts of murder and attempted murder is not the final chapter for our clients. They are steadfastly committed to pursuing justice in their ongoing civil litigation against this individual and others, including Smith & Wesson and the companies that sold the assault weapon used in the shooting.”

Shortly after the lawsuits were filed, Smith & Wesson removed the cases from the Circuit Court in Lake County

Uniformed personnel line the street following the shooting. (Karie Angell Luc photo)

and had them moved to the federal court of the Northern District of Illinois. Both the federal court and the Seventh District Court of Appeals later rejected the move, determining that the cases belonged in state court where they were originally filed.

The federal district court sided with the people who filed the civil complaints and, in is first-of-its-kind outcome, awarded more than $450,000 for legal fees regarding the failed venue change by Smith & Wesson.

The plaintiffs had argued that Smith & Wesson’s tactics showed “a clear attempt to delay the litigation of plaintiff’s claims by “more than a year and a half.”

“The cases never belonged in federal court,” U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger sad in awarding $45,981 in attorney’s fees to the plaintiffs.

When the 25 cases returned to the Lake County court, Judge Ortiz consolidated them. There are 79 people bringing claims against the gun manufacturer, gun dealers, and individuals.

Ortiz also set the next hearing date in the case for May 1, at which time he will decide how the case moves forward.

Robert E. Crimo III arrives during the first day of jury selection at the Lake County Courthouse. Crimo pleaded guilty to charges in the mass shooting before the trial started. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool)

The complaints allege numerous violations of Illinois law and were filed on behalf of Lak County residents who attended the parade in Highland Park. The plaintiffs allege that Smith & Wesson’s marketing of its weapon was unfair and deceptive, including because it misleadingly implies a non-existent association between its “M&P (Military and Police)” line of assault rifles and the U.S. military, and because it knew that its marketing practices promote and sell an image that caters to and attracts high-risk young men like the shooter — the same demographic that Smith & Wesson “has wanted time after time, commit mass shootings using Smith & Wesson assault rifles.”

The Roberts, Sondheim, Straus, Rebollar Sedno, Bennett, Samuels, Rodriguez/Sanchez, Tenorio/Melgar, Vergara/Montes, Toledo, Zeifert, Aguilar, Castellanos, Castillo, Gutman, Medina and Ring families are represented by Romanucci & Blandin LLC; Everytown Law and Wallace Miller.

Everytown Law is the litigation arm of the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.

Representatives of the gun maker and gun dealers could not be reached for comment as of press time.