Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Can Bushmaster Be Sued Over CT School Shooting? - Defective Products / Products Liability - Injured

Can Bushmaster Be Sued Over CT School Shooting? - Defective Products / Products Liability - Injured:

Is there a basis in law - particularly in product liability law - for a manufacturer to be liable for the murderous use of its product?  A Bushmaster rifle was reportedly used in the shootings that claimed 26 lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. A Bushmaster rifle was also used in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper attacks in 2002, after which victims and their families sued the company, Forbes reports. The suit ended in a $2.5 million settlement.
The company may soon find itself involved in another lawsuit tied to the elementary school tragedy. This may be true even though there is a federal law that would seem to bar lawsuits against gunmakers for crimes committed with their products, according to Forbes.

Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005, and President George W. Bush signed it into law. The act was specifically aimed at reducing lawsuits against gun manufacturers over illegal acts committed by their customers, writesForbes.

But even with this statutory protection, the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence says that gun manufacturers like Bushmaster could still face legal consequences for such tragedies.  The Products Liability Restatement generally rejected "categorical liability" - but in § 2, cmt d  allowed the possibility that a product could be so dangerous and of such little utility that no reasonable person would sell it.  Lawn darts was offered in one illustration was such a product.  Is a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle offered for non-military use such a product?

That's because while the 2005 act does provide general protections to gun manufacturers, there are loopholes in the law that could potentially expose a gun manufacturer to liability.




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