Century Arms Faces $5 Million Class-Action Lawsuit
Century Arms, Inc. is now subject to a class-action lawsuit filed on January 19th over defective AK-47 safety / selectors. In short, the lawsuit claims that the safety / selector used on most Century Arms AK’s after 1995 are capable of moving past safe and when moved such, able to discharge a round unintentionally.
An example video of the defect is courtesy of YouTube channel MattV2099which showcases the issue:
The case also calls out a video from channel IntoWeapons, which also demonstrates the issue of the full auto safety / selector. Of late, Century has had a few videos showing issues including this one of a weapon catastrophically detonating.
And before you think the case is frivolous, the plaintiff has retained Angelo Marino, Jr. who previously won a class-action against Taurus International to the tune of $30 million.
The suit is filed as Erickson vs. Century Arms et. al. in Federal Court in Florida. Damages are sought at or above $5 million by the class. The suit alleges that Century did not warn consumers about the issue when it that they knew, or should have known based on testing, that the safety selectors in question could cause the issue.
The lawsuit specifies models C39, M70, 1960, 1980, and other 7.62×39 chambered semi-automatic AK-pattern rifles.
If you have any rifles that may be effected, I would advise that one replaces their safety / selector.
On the flip side, their C93’s are a fantastic HK style rifle per our review.
One of TFB's resident Jarheads, Nathan now works within the firearms industry. A consecutive Marine rifle and pistol expert, he enjoys local 3-gun, NFA, gunsmithing, MSR's, & high-speed gear. Nathan has traveled to over 30 countries working with US DoD & foreign MoDs.The above post is my opinion and does not reflect the views of any company or organization.
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The AKM top cover prevents the safety from rotating far enough to trip the disconnector and release the hammer. The only way that safety will rotate that far, cover in place, is if the user bent that safety outward to make it easier to rotate. That's user error.
This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to take down a major firearms importer. Or perhaps, the anti-gun lobby's attempt to claim a design flaw of the AKM and somehow get it banned.
Either way, it's a BS lawsuit. Any builder of these firearms knows that. Any user of these firearms who knows anything about their safe and CORRECT operation knows this is a BS lawsuit.
My Saiga 12s converted by CAI also has this issue, so its not just 7.62x39 rifles.