BRIDGEPORT - The presiding judge in the ongoing lawsuit against the manufacturer of the semiautomatic rifle used in the December 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting has set April 3, 2018, as the trial date for the case.

Judge Barbara Bellis on April 19 set the trial date following a court conference.

On April 14, Judge Bellis had ruled that the lawsuit can proceed through the courts. She ruled that a 2005 federal law that protects gun manufacturers from lawsuits, known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), and also a state law, known as the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), do not prevent the attorneys for the plaintiffs from arguing that the semiautomatic rifle is a military weapon that is not suitable for sale to civilians.

That ruling followed the defendants' motion to dismiss the case.

The ten plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the families of nine people who were killed in the school massacre and also one teacher who survived 12/14.

Remington Arms, the parent company of Bushmaster Firearms, which made the weapon used in the school shooting, is a defendant, among several other gun-related firms.

Judge Bellis also ruled on April 19 that the discovery process can start for the trial, in which gun company officials would be made available to the plaintiffs for depositions and the provision of other information, such as gun marketing data.