Ruling Jump-starts Atlanta's Gun Lawsuit

Bill Rankin, Staff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, February 17, 2001 — The Georgia Supreme Court on Friday issued a ruling that keeps alive the city of Atlanta's lawsuit against the gun industry.

The city's lawsuit against 14 gun manufacturers and three trade groups accuses the industry of negligence in the way it makes, distributes and markets firearms.

The Supreme Court's ruling, which was unanimous, clears the way for the plaintiffs to obtain internal industry documents as well as sworn testimony from key executives, said Nicholas Moraitakis, a lawyer representing the city.

"This is something we've been waiting for for a long time," he said.

Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell applauded the ruling. "This is a substantial legal victory for our city," he said. "We're delighted that our litigation is still alive and is moving forward, since the cases of so many other cities who have fought this battle were not as fortunate."

Paul Jannuzzo, vice president and general counsel for Marietta-based Glock Inc., one of the defendants, expressed disappointment with the court's decision. He called the lawsuit a "waste of taxpayers' money" and predicted it ultimately would be dismissed.

As for the pretrial fact-finding or discovery — phase, Jannuzzo said the firearms industry is not concerned.

"We'll be happy to go through discovery with the city," he said. "We'll point out (the city's) own failings. We have nothing to hide."

Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Washington-based Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence, noted Atlanta's lawsuit is one of a few to get this far.

"This is a big win for the plaintiffs," Horwitz said. "This is an industry that has operated behind a veil of secrecy for 100 years. This is one of the very first times we'll be able to look at the industry's distribution and production process."

Horwitz said the city will seek to prove the gun industry "has refused to use modern marketing principles and has refused to take basic safety precautions."

Other cities allowed into discovery in gun industry cases include Boston, several in California, and Wilmington, Del., he said.

The gun makers have won dismissal of several other municipal lawsuits, including those filed by Cincinnati, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Bridgeport, Conn., and Gary, Ind., Jannuzzo said.

In the Atlanta case, the Supreme Court had to decide whether Fulton County State Court Gino Brogdin abused his discretion by refusing to dismiss the lawsuit during an early phase of the case.

The industry had argued that the lawsuit, filed in February 1999, was pointless because the General Assembly adopted legislation five days later forbidding such litigation against the gun industry.

Brogdin not only rejected that motion, he also denied the industry's request to allow it to appeal the decision.

The industry then filed a writ of mandamus — a lawsuit to force public officials to do what they are supposed to do — before Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore, asking her to order Brogdin to dismiss the case. But Moore refused, saying Brogdin was acting within his discretion in allowing the case to continue.

Justice Carol Hunstein, writing for the state Supreme Court, said Moore ruled correctly.

"We reject the manner in which (gun makers) challenged the unfavorable ruling," Hunstein wrote.

In a separate, concurring opinion, Justice Norman Fletcher said he "reluctantly" agreed with Hunstein. He wrote that he and Justice Leah Ward Sears believe the 1999 law approved by the Legislature precludes Atlanta from pursuing its lawsuit. The two justices also said Brogdin should have allowed the industry to appeal.

Moraitakis, the city's lawyer, acknowledged that the new state law "may come back to haunt us in the last analysis. But for now, we're going to proceed forward. And we believe there are ways around that statute."

© 2000