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Appeals court weighing legalities of lawsuits against gunmakers
http://firearmnews.com/page2.asp?id=5700
Posted 6/10/2004 from Miami.com
"A state appeals court has begun weighing the legalities of the city's lawsuit seeking reimbursement from the gun industry for costs associated with firearms-related injuries.
Attorneys for gunmakers, their opponents and the city of St. Louis argued the matter Wednesday before a three-judge Missouri Court of Appeals panel.
The appeal follows a St. Louis County judge's dismissal last October of a 1999 lawsuit the city of St. Louis brought against gunmakers, distributors and related trade groups seeking compensation for gun-related injuries. Circuit Judge Emmett O'Brien ruled such lawsuits would open 'a floodgate to additional litigation,' and that 'issues of both logic and fairness' favored throwing out the case.
On Wednesday, Jonathan Lowy - senior attorney with the Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence - urged the three-judge appellate panel to reinstate the city's suit against 32 defendants.
Lowy argued that gunmakers should be subject to lawsuits for the social costs of violence because their sales practices ease the flow of some weapons to dealers and criminals.
Lawrence Greenwald, a Baltimore lawyer representing gunmaker Beretta USA Corp., countered that 'the fundamental issue which cuts through this entire case is: Should the city, which is not a person who got shot, collect from gunmakers, who didn't do the shooting?'"
You can read the complete story at:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8890162.htm?1c
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http://firearmnews.com/page2.asp?id=5700
Posted 6/10/2004 from Miami.com
"A state appeals court has begun weighing the legalities of the city's lawsuit seeking reimbursement from the gun industry for costs associated with firearms-related injuries.
Attorneys for gunmakers, their opponents and the city of St. Louis argued the matter Wednesday before a three-judge Missouri Court of Appeals panel.
The appeal follows a St. Louis County judge's dismissal last October of a 1999 lawsuit the city of St. Louis brought against gunmakers, distributors and related trade groups seeking compensation for gun-related injuries. Circuit Judge Emmett O'Brien ruled such lawsuits would open 'a floodgate to additional litigation,' and that 'issues of both logic and fairness' favored throwing out the case.
On Wednesday, Jonathan Lowy - senior attorney with the Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence - urged the three-judge appellate panel to reinstate the city's suit against 32 defendants.
Lowy argued that gunmakers should be subject to lawsuits for the social costs of violence because their sales practices ease the flow of some weapons to dealers and criminals.
Lawrence Greenwald, a Baltimore lawyer representing gunmaker Beretta USA Corp., countered that 'the fundamental issue which cuts through this entire case is: Should the city, which is not a person who got shot, collect from gunmakers, who didn't do the shooting?'"
You can read the complete story at:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8890162.htm?1c
Registration required