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High court to hear case on gun death
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
High court to hear case on gun deathMother of toddler who shot himself suing manufacturer; Ruling could set precedent; Claim that weapon was defective failed in two lower courts
By Andrea F. SiegelSun StaffOriginally published December 4, 2001In a case that could set a national precedent, lawyers for a Baltimore mother will ask the state's highest court today to rule that a gun maker can be held liable for the accidental death of a toddler who shot himself with a handgun that lacked a childproof lock. Lawyers for Melissa M. Halliday claim that the gun was defective and without a trigger lock, an argument that failed in two lower courts. A divided Court of Special Appeals upheld a Baltimore judge's decision to dismiss the suit. The majority said that though the 9 mm semiautomatic gun was clearly dangerous, it did not malfunction when 3-year-old Jordan Garris took his father's weapon from beneath a mattress, loaded it and killed himself June 6, 1999. The past few years have seen a spike in lawsuits nationwide aimed at holding gun makers responsible for handgun accidents. They have not resulted in trial verdicts favoring those bringing the cases. This case is being closely watched by advocates on both sides. "Other states have been watching Maryland's high court for a signal," said University of Baltimore law professor Charles Tiefer, noting that a 1985 Court of Appeals case holding manufacturers not liable for a criminal's use of their gun attracted similar interest across the country. "The courts in the rest of the country won't care that much about what Maryland's legislature does. But if Maryland's high court holds gun manufacturers liable, then other states' courts may do so in similar circumstances as well," Tiefer said. "It's an incredibly important case," said Daniel R. Vice, an attorney with the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which filed one of two briefs in support of Halliday. "It could set a precedent that gun companies have to prevent foreseeable tragedies like this by putting such technology [trigger locks] on their guns." Andrew D. Freeman, Halliday's lawyer, said that products should be designed to prevent injury from foreseeable mistakes, such as all-too-common accidental shootings, though gun makers argue that deaths such as Jordan's are not foreseeable. "The basic concept of product liability law is that we as a society want manufacturers to take reasonable safety steps to incorporate reasonable safety designs in their products," Freeman said. "The manufacturer of a deli slicer should not be able to put on its manual, 'Don't put your hand in front of the blade' and then not put a safety device on the side." When Clifton R. Garris bought the Ruger P89 at On Target in Severn, it came with a lock box, padlock, safety guide and other safety features, but Garris stored the gun in violation of the law, Paul F. Strain wrote in his brief for Sturm, Ruger & Co. In his brief, Strain compared the gun to an "aspirin bottle left open by a parent, without using the child-resistant cap provided by the manufacturer." He argues that Freeman is trying to rewrite Maryland law. "These are very important issues in Maryland law," Strain said. Bob Delfay of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun makers and retailers, said, "It's quite a stretch of responsibility and obligation to say that it's Ruger's fault" http://www.sunspot.net/news/custom/guns/bal-ar.gun04dec04.story
By Andrea F. SiegelSun StaffOriginally published December 4, 2001In a case that could set a national precedent, lawyers for a Baltimore mother will ask the state's highest court today to rule that a gun maker can be held liable for the accidental death of a toddler who shot himself with a handgun that lacked a childproof lock. Lawyers for Melissa M. Halliday claim that the gun was defective and without a trigger lock, an argument that failed in two lower courts. A divided Court of Special Appeals upheld a Baltimore judge's decision to dismiss the suit. The majority said that though the 9 mm semiautomatic gun was clearly dangerous, it did not malfunction when 3-year-old Jordan Garris took his father's weapon from beneath a mattress, loaded it and killed himself June 6, 1999. The past few years have seen a spike in lawsuits nationwide aimed at holding gun makers responsible for handgun accidents. They have not resulted in trial verdicts favoring those bringing the cases. This case is being closely watched by advocates on both sides. "Other states have been watching Maryland's high court for a signal," said University of Baltimore law professor Charles Tiefer, noting that a 1985 Court of Appeals case holding manufacturers not liable for a criminal's use of their gun attracted similar interest across the country. "The courts in the rest of the country won't care that much about what Maryland's legislature does. But if Maryland's high court holds gun manufacturers liable, then other states' courts may do so in similar circumstances as well," Tiefer said. "It's an incredibly important case," said Daniel R. Vice, an attorney with the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which filed one of two briefs in support of Halliday. "It could set a precedent that gun companies have to prevent foreseeable tragedies like this by putting such technology [trigger locks] on their guns." Andrew D. Freeman, Halliday's lawyer, said that products should be designed to prevent injury from foreseeable mistakes, such as all-too-common accidental shootings, though gun makers argue that deaths such as Jordan's are not foreseeable. "The basic concept of product liability law is that we as a society want manufacturers to take reasonable safety steps to incorporate reasonable safety designs in their products," Freeman said. "The manufacturer of a deli slicer should not be able to put on its manual, 'Don't put your hand in front of the blade' and then not put a safety device on the side." When Clifton R. Garris bought the Ruger P89 at On Target in Severn, it came with a lock box, padlock, safety guide and other safety features, but Garris stored the gun in violation of the law, Paul F. Strain wrote in his brief for Sturm, Ruger & Co. In his brief, Strain compared the gun to an "aspirin bottle left open by a parent, without using the child-resistant cap provided by the manufacturer." He argues that Freeman is trying to rewrite Maryland law. "These are very important issues in Maryland law," Strain said. Bob Delfay of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun makers and retailers, said, "It's quite a stretch of responsibility and obligation to say that it's Ruger's fault" http://www.sunspot.net/news/custom/guns/bal-ar.gun04dec04.story
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