WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a $10 billion lawsuit launched by Mexico against leading firearm manufacturers in the United States, alleging that the businesses’ business practices were fuelling the country’s cartel bloodshed.
In a victory for the firearm industry, the unanimous decision overturned the case under a US provision that mainly shields gunmakers from culpability when their rifles are used in a crime.
Justice Elena Kagan noted that Congress approved the statute two decades ago to avoid a surge of lawsuits against gunmakers identical to the one filed by Mexico. Her verdict overturned a lower court decision that allowed the claim to proceed because the firms themselves were accused of breaking the law.
Kagan concluded that Mexico’s lawsuit offered no compelling claim that the firms deliberately aided firearms trafficking into the country.
“It does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly) assisted,” Kagan said.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it strongly disagreed with the decision and will continue to fight firearm trafficking. “Mexico has presented solid arguments demonstrating the harm that arms manufacturing companies cause to our country,” the country’s spokesperson stated.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum cited a second lawsuit filed in 2022 against five gun dealers and distributors in Arizona. “We’re going to see what the result is, and we’ll let you know,” she told me.
Mexico has stringent gun laws and only one outlet where citizens can lawfully purchase firearms. Every year, the country’s formidable drug gangs sneak in thousands of guns.
The Mexican government claims that at least 70% of the firearms are from the United States. The lawsuit stated that firms were aware that firearms were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to capitalise on the market.
The Mexican government originally filed its massive lawsuit in 2021 against some of the world’s largest gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt, and Glock.
The corporations have long denied Mexico’s charges, contending that the country can’t prove they’re responsible for a small number of people using their products to perpetrate violence. “We are pleased that the Supreme Court agreed that we are not legally responsible for criminals misusing that product to harm people, let alone smuggling it to Mexico to be used by drug cartels,” said attorney Noel Francisco, who represented Smith & Wesson.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation also praised the decision, noting that gun manufacturers collaborate with US authorities to combat gun trafficking. “This is a tremendous victory for the firearm industry and the rule of law,” said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel.
A federal judge first dismissed the complaint under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston reinstated it under an exception for lawsuits alleging improper business activities.
This exception has also been used in other circumstances, such as mass shooting lawsuits.
Families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, argued that it applied to their lawsuit because the gunmaker violated state law by marketing the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, which killed 20 first-graders and six educators.
The families eventually reached a landmark settlement of $73 million with Remington, the rifle’s maker.
According to David Pucino, legal director of the Giffords Law Centre to Prevent Gun Violence, the Supreme Court’s decision does not appear to end those cases. “All survivors, in the United States, in Mexico, and anywhere else, deserve their day in court, and we will continue to support them in their fight for justice,” according to him.
