Anti-Handgun Violence Litigation

Introduction

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, represented twelve cities and counties in California in a lawsuit against the gun industry intended to reduce handgun violence. The lawsuit sought injunctive relief that would change the way the gun companies do business, and also seeks to recover the economic costs gun violence inflicts on society.

Holding the Gun Industry Accountable

Every year in California, more than 3,000 people are killed with a gun; thousands more are seriously wounded.

The California cities and counties' lawsuit alleged: (1) gun manufacturers sell handguns through a distribution system that supplies weapons to criminals and juveniles; (2) the gun industry has facilitated the development of an underground market in which lethal weapons are routinely sold to straw purchasers and gun traffickers; (3) such conduct constitutes a public nuisance; and (4) gun manufacturers have failed to incorporate appropriate and available safety mechanisms on their guns.

National Public Radio Report

On March 6, 2003, National Public Radio reported on the effort by California cities and counties to hold gun manufacturers responsible for deaths and injuries from firearms. The following is an excerpt from the program:

SCOTT HORSLEY reporting: When a criminal gets a gun, it often comes from a federally licensed dealer. A study by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found corrupt licensees are responsible for nearly half the guns diverted to the criminal market. Attorney Robert Nelson says gun manufacturers could refuse to sell to those suspect dealers, but instead, he argues, gun makers turn a blind eye to the problem.

Mr. ROBERT NELSON (Attorney): We have evidence that there are a number of rogue dealers out there. Manufacturers have done nothing to rein in those dealers or shut them down.

HORSLEY: Nelson represents California cities and counties that are suing gun makers. Their lawsuit accuses companies, like Smith & Wesson, Glock and Baretta, of unfair business practices and creating a public nuisance.

Mr. NELSON: There are so many guns that are in the hands of criminals. They don't just appear magically. There's a method by which this happens. We believe the manufacturers know about that method, do nothing to stop it and profit immensely from it.

Settlement with Gun Dealers and Distributors

In August 2003, five gun industry defendants have agreed to change the way they do business in return for being released, shortly before trial, from lawsuits by twelve California cities and counties.

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.

As an example of the reforms accepted by the gun industry defendants, Trader Sports, a gun dealer located near Oakland, CA, agreed that it would take the following extra steps as part of a permanent Consent Decree to be administered by the Court. Trader Sports will:

Not sell firearms at gun shows;
Implement an enhanced inventory tracking plan to ensure that firearms are not lost or stolen;
Annually train all employees how to recognize and block sales to straw purchasers;
Adopt as the store's policy "to go beyond the law in verifying the identity of the actual purchaser of a firearm"; and
Maintain electronically all firearm trace requests conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and provide that information, upon request, to gun manufacturers and distributors, which would enable them to monitor the conduct of the dealers who sell their firearms.

Further Resources

Evidence against the gun industry, based largely on internal industry documents obtained in the California lawsuits, has been revealed in a special report published by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and entitled Smoking Guns: Exposing the Gun Industry's Complicity in the Illegal Gun Market, available at www.gunlawsuits.org.