Friday, May 19, 2000
City tries to revive its gun lawsuit
The Associated Press
Cincinnati wants an appeals court to reinstate the city's lawsuit that demands millions of dollars in damages from gun manufacturers for crimes committed with the weapons.
The city's lawyer on Wednesday asked the 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals to overrule a lower court's October decision to throw out the lawsuit.
Lawyers for the gun manufacturers countered by asking the appeals court to uphold dismissal of the lawsuit.
A three-judge panel heard the arguments and did not say when it will rule.
The lawsuit should be reinstated because gun manufacturers have the technology to make the weapons safer but won't implement it, leading to unnecessary injuries and deaths, said Stanley Chesley, the city's lawyer.
Mr. Chesley argued that guns are distributed recklessly and are marketed to criminals. He cited a magazine advertisement that listed one gun as “fingerprint resistant.”
Manufacturers cannot control the behavior of people who use guns to inflict harm, lawyers for the gun makers said. They said manufacturers cannot legally be held liable.
The ruling in October was the first in the country to throw out a municipality's lawsuit against gun makers.
Cincinnati was among 27 cities or counties that sued the gun industry, seeking to recover costs for responding to shootings.
Cincinnati's lawsuit named as defendants the gun makers, a distributor and three trade associations.
It also sought to force changes in the design, distribution and advertising of guns nationally.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman ruled in October that only the Ohio General Assembly has authority to regulate product design and marketing.
He rejected Cincinnati's allegations that guns are defectively designed and that gun makers fail to warn users of possible risks.
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