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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS December 23, 2003 The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the City of Gary may proceed with its lawsuit against gun manufacturers and sellers. The court rejected virtually very argument made by the industry against the City's suit.
December 1, 2003 The United States Supreme Court refused to hear a Second Amendment challenge to California's strongest-in-the-nation Assault Weapons Ban, leaving undisturbed an earlier ruling by the United States Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upholding the California statute and ruling that the Second Amendment confers a right to possess and use firearms only in connection with state militia activities.
November 20, 2003 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses lower court ruling dismissing gun manufacturers and distributor.
October 15, 2003
September 24, 2003 On September 24, 2003, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the State's restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons. The Court found there is no constitutional right to carry concealed weapons.
August 21, 2003 Five industry defendants agreed to change the way they do business in return for being released, shortly before trial, from lawsuits by twelve California cities and counties in People of the State of California v. Arcadia Machine & Tool, Inc., JCCP No. 4095. The gun industry defendants - two California gun dealers and three gun distributors who sold guns into California - agreed to take steps that go above and beyond current federal and state law to prevent firearms from being sold into the underground market in California. The agreed-upon reforms are part of settlements to be approved by the trial court.
August 7, 2003 On August 7, 2003, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that MCL 28.435, a statute passed to retroactively bar Detroit and Wayne County from proceeding with their lawsuit against the gun industry, was constitutional. The Court of Appeals also found that Michigan cities and counties do not have standing to raise the issue of constitutionality of state legislation, overturning the trial court's finding that plaintiffs did have standing to challenge the statute and that they had significant interest in recovering for their financial injuries from defendants.
July 21, 2003 On July 21, 2003, Judge Jack Weinstein of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a decision condemning the gun industry for its practices but finding that the NAACP had not suffered special injuries different from those of the general public and so could not recover. Click below to read the court's opinion.
June 27, 2003 A judge in Tacoma, Washington ruled on June 27, 2003, that a lawsuit brought by nine families of the Washington, DC-area sniper attacks against the gun dealer and manufacturer that supplied the assault rifle used in the shootings should proceed toward trial. The court rebuffed arguments by Tacoma gun dealer Bull's Eye Shooter Supply and assault rifle manufacturer Bushmaster Firearms that they are immune from responsibility for supplying guns to criminals. The court also denied Bushmaster's Motion to Reconsider the court's ruling on July 7, 2003.
June 24, 2003
May 14, 2003 Facing a possible threat from the Ohio immunity statute, a hostile judge, and mounting legal costs, the City Council voted to drop the City's suit on April 30, 2003. On May 14, 2003, an order was granted allowing the City to drop its suit without prejudice. The City's case made significant contributions to the fight to end gun violence in Cincinnati and cities around the country. Documents obtained in the evidence-gathering phase will contribute to ongoing lawsuits brought by other cities and the City's victory in the Ohio Supreme Court remains a significant national milestone.
May 7, 2003 On May 7, 2003, a jury awarded $50.9 million in compensatory damages to a plaintiff in a case against Saturday-Night Special manufacturer Bryco Arms. The jury found gun designer Bruce Jennings, manufacturer Bryco Arms and its distributors liable for designing a defective firearm which resulted in the paralysis of a seven year old. The case is Maxfield v. Bryco Arms, et al., in the Superior Court of the State of California, Alameda County.
April 10, 2003 In the case of People of the State of California v. Arcadia Machine & Tool, Inc., the Superior Court in San Diego granted gun manufacturers and gun trade associations' motions for summary judgment. Judgment was entered April 10, 2003. All twelve of the California jurisdictions have appealed the ruling to the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.
April 8, 2003 On April 8, 2003, a unanimous Indiana Supreme Court ruled in Estate of Heck v. Stoffer, that gun owners have a legal duty to exercise care in the storage of their guns to keep them away from criminals.
April 7, 2003 On April 7, 2003, the Massachusetts Superior Court in Worcester denied defendants motions to dismiss in the case of Hernandez v. Kahr Arms, allowing plaintiffs' claims for negligence and public nuisance to go forward. The suit charges that gun maker Kahr Arms acted negligently and created a public nuisance by operating its manufacturing plant without security or inventory controls and by failing to screen its employees for drug addiction or criminal records.
March 19, 2003 On March 19, 2003, a West Virginia state trial judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two former New Jersey police officers against a gun dealer and manufacturer charged with negligence in supplying the gun used in the January 2001 shooting of the officers in Orange, New Jersey. Judge Irene Berger of Circuit Court of Kanawha County upheld the legal sufficiency of each of the officers' claims against the defendants Sturm Ruger, and Will Jewelry & Loan, the gun dealer.
March 11, 2003 On March 11, 2003, a New Jersey appeals court issued a decision clearing the way for lawsuits brought by three New Jersey cities - Camden City, Newark, and Jersey City - to move forward toward trial. The New Jersey court rejected an earlier ruling by a federal appeals court in Philadelphia which dismissed a suit against gun makers brought by Camden County, New Jersey.
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