WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- Continuing Legal Education (CLE) is the mandatory training lawyers must take after they pass the bar. The classes that attorneys take can vary. The gun control group, Brady United Against Gun Violence, has now launched a CLE course that teaches lawyers how to sue firearms manufacturers. (www.trialguides.com/products/copy-of-introduction-to-suing-gun-manufacturers-on-demand-cle)
Brady United has been using creative legal arguments in lawsuits to sue gun manufacturers across the country and get around the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
The anti-gun group has launched over 250 lawsuits in 45 states, costing the gun industry over $60 million. The strategy started with a successful case against Remington in Connecticut after a mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in New Town.
“Working alongside trial lawyers, Brady represents (pro bono) gun violence victims, survivors, and communities in high-impact litigation that aims to reform the gun industry,” the course description reads. “Brady Legal has brought or assisted in more than 250 lawsuits in over forty states, and has won over $60 million dollars in settlements and verdicts for victims and survivors of gun violence who have been harmed because of negligently sold, designed or marketed guns.”
The training program builds on Brady’s record by teaching other lawyers how to go after gun companies. The class is taught by Brady Chief Counsel Jonathan Lowy and Senior Counsel Erin Davis, and it focuses on overcoming the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
The PLCAA is a 2005 law meant to protect firearms manufacturers and gun dealers from lawsuits over the use of its products. The companies can still be sued for defective products, breach of contract, criminal misconduct, and other actions, such as selling a gun they knew would be used in a crime. Although many companies have used the PLCAA as a defense, others have chosen to settle out of court.
The class teaches the lawyer how to frame the case for the courts. It also covers gun laws and how Brady has survived the motion to dismiss that will evidently come in any gun case when the firearms company cites the PLCAA protections. It teaches how to use proximate cause in lawsuits as one way of getting around the PLCAA.
Proximate cause is being exploited as a way around the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).. Proximate cause refers to a primary cause of an incident that sets everything into motion. The most common example is a car crossing into oncoming traffic that causes another vehicle to swerve, hitting a pedestrian. In that case, the car that crossed into oncoming traffic would be responsible even though they did not hit the vehicle or the pedestrian.
The course also teaches how to use a gun company’s marketing against them to prove liability. Marketing has been in the crosshairs of anti-gun lawsuits as of late. The Sandy Hook lawsuit was the first to cite marketing, but it is just one of many cases that have targeted the sales practices of gun companies. Lawsuits stemming from mass murders in Buffalo, Uvalde, and Highland Park also included firearms marketing in their cases against gun stores and manufacturers.
The course also includes how to sue gun stores over straw purchases and negligent sales.
It is done by analyzing patterns. Lawsuits have been launched where the plaintiffs argue the gun store should have known a gun was purchased for a prohibited person. Recently AmmoLand News reported that anti-gun groups had filed a freedom of information act (FOIA) request about federal firearms licensees (FFL) around major cities. This information could be used to find evidence that could be used in court cases.
Part of the proceeds from these classes will go to Brady United Against Gun Violence. There is no CLE course of defending against frivolous lawsuits over shootings.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
Not in the state of Montana as our Republican super majority in Helena passed state laws against this happening in Montana . Nice try anti second amendment clowns .
6 comments so far and each one has valuable information on how to pushback, this is great. I’m hoping, the author omitted any offensive strategy, the FOIA requests submitted by Ammoland leads to a clear and decisive strategy even non-lawyer and advocacy groups can utilize.
What the Hell is wrong in the legal sector? They were given the greatest legal system ever invented. Yet, 75-80% of them or more are worthless commie mendacious reprobates Hellbent on destroying everything. It makes no sense other than the majority of them have been educated beyond their common sense and comprehension.
These gun companies should be working together. Expenses would be lower all the way around. Whenever one company has to go to court. All their lawyers should be working on the case. Put their minds & strategies together. With the internet it should be a breeze. If it was me I would hire some fresh young minds right out of school that supports 2A. I would have them work with the older experienced lawyers. I bet a company could get them cheap on a salary. And I would think the young lawyers would jump at the opportunity. They learn the… Read more »
So when does Nissan or Toyota get sued over their commercials ? Or how about those electric vehicles ? You know the ones showing just how much torque they have. Sometimes you need to fight fire with fire. Alcohol companies for drunk drivers. Phone companies for texting & driving. The issue here is getting the RIGHT judge. But there lies the problem. You would have to find a corrupt judge. To act as the other idiots do. LOL
Though the suit was against Remington, Remington did not lose. Remington under that guise no longer existed. The suit was settled by the conservators (insurance companies) of the estate.
Pain and suffering work the other way too. How about gun rights groups uniting to sue states or municipalities which deny or delay gun licenses for applicants victimized by gun violence? That gal in Berlin, NJ, who was murdered by a rejected guy, about ten years ago, while the gun license languished in processing, comes to mind. States and authorities aren’t sacrosanct.