Federal Court Torpedos Mexican Lawsuit Against Gun Manufacturers

Zac K
by Zac K

One of the most significant lawsuits in the firearms world has been mostly dismantled in the U.S. Federal District Court. US district judge Dennis Saylor has dismissed the Mexican government’s lawsuit against six American gunmakers, months after it was filed in Massachusetts. However, the $10B lawsuit is not completely gone—there’s still some cleanup to sort out with other parties named in the suit.


Lawsuits @ TFB:


How we got here


The Mexican federal government has been working to fight U.S. gunmakers in court for months now, with a $10 billion lawsuit in the works. As we told you last time we looked at this:


“The Mexican lawsuit boils down to this: Mexico’s government says American gunmakers are the cause of violence in that country, due to manufacturers’ business practices in the U.S. The manufacturers pointed to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which initially was enough to shoot down the lawsuit in U.S. courtrooms. However, back in January of 2024, a three-judge panel in the Boston-based First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the PLCAA only protects firearm manufacturers from lawsuits over criminal misuse of their products in the U.S.”


Thanks to that appeal, the Mexican lawsuit showed back up in the District Court for the District of Massachusetts, where U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor said six of the parties named in the lawsuit were outside that court’s jurisdiction. With that said, he dismissed the lawsuit against Barrett, Beretta, Glock, Sturm Ruger & Co, Colt and Century. Only Witmer Public Safety Group (wholesalers) and Smith & Wesson remain, and since Smith & Wesson’s relocation, they might not be on the list for long. However, the Mexican government says it is considering its options, which include another appeal or re-filing in other courthouses—or perhaps other lawyering tactics.


What’s really going on here?


According to Lawrence Keane, general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the Mexican government was “forum-shopping,” trying to pick a sympathetic courthouse to hear their lawsuit against the gunmakers, when other courthouses would have rejected the case based on the PLCAA. It’s hard to disagree with that; why else would Mexico use a Boston courtroom to sue these firearm makers who aren’t based anywhere near Massachusetts? Based on the appeals court’s ruling in January, it looks like the tactics worked somewhat. But in this case, the Mexicans ended up with a Bush-appointed judge who did not see eye-to-eye on their case.

Keane said he hoped the rest of the defendants would see their names also removed by judges, but the Mexican government certainly seems determined to get paid by the U.S. firearms industry. Stay tuned, because if they don’t give up, it’s not hyperbole to say that the American firearms industry’s future remains at stake.

Zac K
Zac K

Professional hoser with fudd-ish leanings.

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  • MediumSizeTex MediumSizeTex on Aug 12, 2024

    I mean sure, the US is ultimately responsible for mostt of the nightmarish levels of violence in Mexico, but that's because of our insane drug policy, not because the cartels that drug policy built out of whole cloth tend to use trash guns bought in the US to arm their trash-tier goon squads. You want to destroy the power base of the cartels in a single election cycle and make a huge leap forward in fighting the corruption that keeps Mexico from being the major world player it really should be, you have to end the so-called "war on drugs" and take away their income source. Re-legalize marijuana and treat drug addiction like a medical issue instead of a crime, and the cartels won't be able to charge as much as they do for the hard stuff, which means the profit motive for the vast smuggling networks which support it will dry up and blow away, and there goes the basis for their power over the government and the people.


    Nobody in charge wants actual solutions, though-- that might upset the status quo that keeps scumbags in office and in the graft trough-- and the mooing herds of the electorate aren't interested in taking away one of their main justifications for hating The Other.

    • Michael Curtis Michael Curtis on Aug 12, 2024

      Yeah bro they haven’t been importing pot in years



      decriminalizing drugs only gets you Seattle and San Fran


      you want this to end, treat it like the invasion and terrorism that it is and smoke the hell out of anything that has a cartels name on it









  • Ian Roth Ian Roth on Aug 14, 2024

    It's nice that the cartel soldiers keep a copy of their 4473 with their illegally imported guns. That rock solid chain of custody from manufacturers to the hills of Sinaloa is impeccable.

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