Supreme Court To Review Mexico’s Lawsuit Against Gunmakers

Last updated on October 5th, 2024 at 01:30 pm

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider arguments for dismissing a lawsuit, brought by the government of Mexico against Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glock, and Ruger.

The Mexican government first filed its lawsuit in 2021, arguing gunmakers have been negligent in their marketing and sales and should be held liable for cross border arms smuggling.

The liability lawsuit has faced legal setbacks, including a September 2022 dismissal, and another dismissal this August. Still, the Mexican government has pressed forward its liability claims.

The defendant gun makers filed a petition for the Supreme Court to review the case in April. In it, the gunmakers noted the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts had determined the lawsuit violates the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). The PLCAA generally bars civil lawsuits to hold firearms companies liable when their products are criminally misused.

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the September 2022 dismissal decision, putting the lawsuit back into play. The appeals court concluded the PLCAA didn’t apply because there were grounds to believe the defendant gunmakers knew their regular business practices contributed to illegal firearm trafficking.

The petition to the Supreme Court again asserts the District Court had it right when it ruled the PLCAA applies in this case.

“The PLCAA codifies a very basic principle of law: manufacturers cannot be held liable for the criminal misuse of their products,” said Firearms Policy Coalition Action Fund President Cody J. Wisniewski, whose organization has supported the gunmakers in the lawsuit.

Gun rights advocates celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision on Oct. 4 to take up the case.

“Today’s announcement by the U.S. Supreme Court that they are granting Smith & Wesson’s petition to hear Mexico’s frivolous $10 billion lawsuit against lawful American firearm manufacturers is welcomed news to the entire firearm industry,” said Lawrence G. Keane, the senior vice president and general council for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF); a gun industry trade organization.

The Supreme Court has issued some recent rulings favored by gun rights activists. Other recent Supreme Court rulings have opened the door for certain gun control measures.