A group of Catholic nuns on Tuesday sued Smith & Wesson’s board to try to force the gunmaker to abandon the manufacture, marketing and sale of assault-style rifles that have been used in US mass shootings.
Nunn, in a lawsuit filed in state court in Nevada, alleges that Smith & Wesson’s directors and senior management exposed the company to substantial liability by willfully violating federal, state and local laws and failing to respond to lawsuits regarding mass shooting.
“These guns have no purpose other than mass murder,” the nun said in a statement.
Smith & Wesson, which is incorporated in Nevada, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The AR-15 assault-style rifle has been used in several mass shootings that have shocked Americans.
The first page of the lawsuit contains a photo from the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater in 2012 that shows a Smith & Wesson assault rifle on the ground covered in blood next to pink sandals. Twelve people died and 70 were injured in the attack.
The group of nuns filed the lawsuit in their role as shareholders of Smith & Wesson, in what is known as a derivative suit. Such lawsuits aim to hold corporate boards accountable for breaches of their duty to shareholders, although courts have generally found boards protected from lawsuits for honest decisions.
The nun alleges that Smith & Wesson’s directors and senior management exposed the company to substantial liability by willfully violating federal, state and local laws and failing to respond to lawsuits related to mass shootings. Reuters
If successful, the lawsuit would make the company’s directors liable for any costs associated with the allegedly illegal marketing of the assault rifle and any damages would be paid to Smith & Wesson, not the plaintiff.
The lawsuit is the first published case against the board over assault rifles, according to Jeffrey Norton, an attorney for the nuns.
The nun claimed that Smith & Wesson directors had ignored the growing legal risks of making assault-style rifles.
For years, gunmakers enjoyed broad immunity for liability from mass shootings due to a 2005 US law known as the Lawful Trade in Arms Protection Act. But last year, rival gunmaker Remington agreed to pay $73 million to settle claims by the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, which has encouraged others to sue in mass shooting cases.
The AR-15 assault-style rifle has been used in several mass shootings. Reuters
In addition, New York, Illinois and California are among the states that have adopted laws that either ban assault rifles or make it easier to sue for their use.
At the same time, the US Supreme Court and many other states have taken steps to expand the rights of gun owners.
Smith & Wesson warned in its 2022 annual report that it may have to pay substantial damages due to legal proceedings against the company.
The case in Nevada was brought by the Adrian Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan; Sisters of Bon Secours USA of Marriottsville, Md.; Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia of Aston, Pa.; and Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary, US-Ontario Province of Marylhurst, Ore.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
