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http://www.nam.org/tertiary.asp?TrackID=&CategoryID=746&DocumentID=26971
NAM FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN DC V. BERETTA, ARGUING THAT ‘NOVEL LEGAL THEORIES’ THREATEN ALL MANUFACTURERS
‘Foreseeable’ Misuse Could Affect Virtually Any Product from Cars to Matches
Washington, D.C., August 25, 2003 – The National Association of Manufacturers today filed an amicus curiae brief with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals arguing that an attempt by the DC government to inflate the liability of gun makers to unprecedented levels threatens all manufacturers.
The city’s position in DC v. Beretta USA that negligence claims should be actionable against gun makers based on the “foreseeability†of harm alone, and that the doctrine of “public nuisance†should be expanded to an unprecedented level, “threaten…to engulf the entire law of torts and to abandon identifiable criteria for liability,†states the NAM brief. This would “cut directly against the order, stability and predictability… that are essential to a well-functioning manufacturing community,†jeopardizing planning, international competitiveness, and a host of other business operations.
“Abrogating the ‘duty’ element of negligence, and replacing it with a mere ‘foreseeability’ inquiry, would threaten practically limitless litigation against the manufacturers of lawful, non-defective products,†the brief says. “The new law this Court would create could potentially affect manufacturers of many mass-produced products other than handguns – such as knives, matches, rope, and automobiles – that can cause harm if ‘foreseeably’ misused by enough purchasers.â€
This in turn “threatens seriously to undermine the ability of any manufacturer to produce and sell products that are lawful and non-defective if those products are capable of being criminally misused by some remote possessor,†the brief adds.
The National Association of Manufacturers is the nation’s largest industrial trade association. The NAM represents 14,000 members (including 10,000 small and mid-sized companies) and 350 member associations serving manufacturers and employees in every industrial sector and all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 10 additional offices across the country.
The NAM’s mission is to enhance the competitiveness of manufacturers and improve American living standards by shaping a legislative and regulatory environment conducive to U.S. economic growth, and to increase understanding among policymakers, the media and the general public about the importance of manufacturing to America’s economic strength.
Be sure to visit our award-winning web site at www.nam.org for more information about legislative, policy and workplace developments affecting manufacturers, employees and the economy.