Friday, January 21, 2000
Cincinnati wants to revive gun suit
Dismissal a mistake, city says in appeal
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The city of Cincinnati asked an appeals court Thursday to revive its lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
In a legal brief filed with the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals, the city's attorneys argued a Cincinnati judge made a mistake when he threw out its lawsuit three months ago.
The city wants the lawsuit reinstated so it can recover the cost of gun-related violence from the manufacturers.
The city claims the manufacturers are responsible for violence committed with their products because they were negligent in the design, distribution and marketing of guns.
The suit was thrown out in October when Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman concluded that gun companies cannot be blamed for crimes committed with their products.
Judge Ruehlman's decision was the first of its kind and was hailed by some as a major victory for the gun industry, which faces similar suits in nearly 30 other cities.
City attorneys countered Thursday with an appeal that attacks the judge's ruling on several fronts.
Led by Cincinnati lawyer Stanley Chesley, the team of city attorneys argued that the judge “misapplied fundamental principles of Ohio law.”
First, the city's lawyers said the judge was wrong to describe the lawsuit as an attempt to modify or enact laws.
Judge Ruehlman had said such a lawsuit was improper because it sought to use the courts to resolve a debate that belonged in the state legislature.
But in its appeal, the city contends its claims are no different than those made every day in cases involving auto safety, medicine and the work place.
The city's attorneys also disputed Judge Ruehlman's contention that manufacturers are not legally responsible for violence committed with their products.
Judge Ruehlman stated “the risks of the use of firearms are open and obvious and commonly recognized.”
The city's appeal argues that the manufacturers heightened the risks by failing to make simple design changes in the guns that could have prevented injuries and deaths.
A panel of judges from the appeals court will review the city's appeal in the coming months. A decision is expected later this year.
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