Landmark filed a merits brief in early December in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., et al. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos, urging the Supreme Court to overturn a decision of the First Circuit Court of Appeals. (Earlier this year, we filed a brief in support of the initial cert petition, asking the Court to hear the case.) Mexico is asking for billions of dollars in damages and injunctive relief due to the damage caused by the cartels in Mexico.
We argue that Mexico’s lawsuit is barred by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2005. The PLCAA was passed in response to mass torts claims brought against the American firearms industry in the 1990s. Congress made clear that the industry should not be held liable for the criminal or unlawful use of their products. It is rare that Congress speaks so decisively and harshly on an issue.
In the lawsuit, Mexico repackaged claims that were very similar to those cases brought decades ago. Mexico argued that it meets an exception in the PLCAA, but it should not succeed. This case is important for American businesses beyond the firearms industry. A looser standard of proximate cause could lead to more tort claims against companies for the foreseeable misuse of their legally manufactured and distributed products. Read the brief here.
Landmark’s Executive Vice President Matt Forys wrote an article in The Federalist about the case, highlighting the incredible hypocrisy of outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). AMLO thinks Americans bear full responsibility for our opioid epidemic while American gun manufacturers owe Mexico billions of dollars due to Mexico’s gun violence. Read it here.