California Supreme Court Sets Precedence for Gun Maker Liability
By Robert Warne - August 7, 2001The California Supreme Court in a 5-1 decision ruled that gun maker Navegar Inc., manufacturers of the TEC-DC9, could not be held liable for illegal misuse of its weapon. The suit against Navegar was over a 1993 workplace shooting in which Gian Luigi Ferri, packing two TEC-DC9s and a revolver, stormed into a San Francisco law office, killing nine persons and injuring six.
The incident is viewed as one of the first of its kind in a national rash of workplace and school shootings. The Aug. 6 decision delivers a debilitating blow to gun control activists who want to hold gun makers liable for the harm their products cause. The decisions also takes the edge off pending claims by cities and counties across California, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, that gun makers are liable for faulty design, manufacturing and distributing firearms.
Columbine became the impetus for this case when it was revealed that a TEC-DC9 was used in the massacre. Originally thrown out in 1997, the case was reinstated after a landmark decision by a state appeals court found that is was possible Navegar could have been negligent in promoting the weapon.
Justice Ming Chin said in the court's majority opinion, "In reaching this conlusion, we are not insensitive to the terrible tragedy that occurred on July 1, 1993, or the devastating effect of Ferri's rampage on his victims and their loved ones.
"But...the Legislature has set California's public policy regarding a gun manufacturer's liability under these circumstances. Given that public policy, plaintiffs may not proceed with their negligence claim."
Justice Kathryn Werdegar in her dissenting opinion felt that liability suits in certain cases should be allowed to proceed. Due to the unclear legislation regarding California's product liability laws, she maintains that the statutes involved need clarification.
"Until such action is taken, gun makers, including makers of assault wepons banned in California, will apparently enjoy absolute impunity from the consequences of their negligent marketing decisions," she added.
The plaintiffs' argument that Navegar had negligently marketed its product was based on ads run in publications such as Soldier of Fortune that targeted "high-risk users with the intent to kill." Such publications were found in Ferri's apartment after the rampage.
So far in similar suits across the nation, the courts have ruled that makers of legal, non-defective guns can't be sued for their criminal misuse.
(See Legislative Update, "Gun Makers Cast Wary Eye on Court Case" May 11, 2001) | 
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