cuchulainn
Member
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/w...ar12,0,5048743.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
Appellate court allows Newark to continue suit against gun manufacturers
March 12, 2003, 10:31 AM EST
TRENTON, N.J. -- A state appeals court has refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Newark against gun manufacturers and dealers, allowing it and other lawsuits brought by Camden and Jersey City to proceed to trial.
The cities are seeking compensation for costs associated with gun violence.
Gun control advocates said Tuesday's ruling by a three-judge panel was significant because it contradicts the legal reasoning of a ruling last year by a federal appeals court in Philadelphia that dismissed a lawsuit against gun makers by Camden County.
In that case, the judges accepted the gun industry's argument that harm caused by gun violence is "too remote" from the conduct of manufacturers and dealers to warrant damage claims against them.
However, the New Jersey court found that the federal court's analysis "does not fit squarely" with the way courts in New Jersey have traditionally interpreted state law.
The New Jersey ruling said it does not seem "highly extraordinary" for Newark to claim that gun manufacturers' marketing and distribution of firearms fed an illegal secondary gun market that provided weapons to criminals.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gun manufacturers' trade association that has been fighting the suits, said it was considering whether to appeal the decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Newark's lawsuit, filed in June 1999, claims gun manufacturers have negligently oversupplied the area with weapons, provided misleading information about their danger and failed to equip them with safety devices, such as trigger locks. It also accused them of failing to supervise distributors, leading to sales on the illegal market.
Newark, Camden and Jersey City are among more than 30 cities and counties nationwide that have filed suits against several gun manufacturers and dealers, seeking compensation for law enforcement, medical and other costs that they contend result from gun violence.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press