The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an important case this term, Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, as Landmark had urged in an amicus brief filed this summer. Mexico sued American firearms manufacturers and distributors, claiming they were responsible for the damage caused by Mexican criminals in Mexico. But a federal statute, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), protects those companies from lawsuits stemming from the criminal misuse of their products. Under Mexico’s theory, the companies’ design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution decisions were the proximate cause of harm.
Mexico alleged that through these policies the companies had aided and abetted the cartels. But “aiding and abetting” requires conscious, culpable conduct, which did not happen here, where the American companies were acting lawfully. And tort liability requires more than just foreseeability, otherwise businesses would be opened to an avalanche of lawsuits. Their reasoning threatens not just American firearms companies but untold American industries if it stands.
Read Landmark’s amicus brief filed in support of the petition for certiorari here.