Supreme Court blocks Mexico's $10B lawsuit alleging US gunmakers have fueled cartel violence
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. alleging the companies' business practices have fueled tremendous cartel violence and bloodshed.
The unanimous ruling tossed out the case under U.S. laws that largely shield gunmakers from liability when their firearms are used in crime.
Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson had appealed to the justices after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for situations in which the companies themselves are accused of violating the law.
Mexico had asked the justices to let the case play out, saying it was still in its early stages.
The case began in 2021, when the Mexican government filed a blockbuster suit against some of the biggest gun companies, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock.
Mexico has strict gun laws and has just one store where people can legally buy firearms. But thousands of guns are smuggled in by the country's powerful drug cartels every year.
The Mexican government says at least 70% of those weapons come from the United States. The lawsuit claims that companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to cash in on that market.
The companies reject Mexico's allegations, arguing the country's lawsuit comes nowhere close to showing they're responsible for a relatively few people using their products to commit violence.
A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit under a 2005 law that protects gun companies from most civil lawsuits, but an appeals court revived it. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston found it fell under an exception to the shield law for situations in which firearm companies are accused of knowingly breaking laws in their business practices.
That exception has come up in other cases, including in lawsuits stemming from mass shootings.
Families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, for example, argued it applied to their lawsuit because the gunmaker had violated state law in the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, in which 20 first graders and six educators were killed.
The families eventually secured a landmark $73 million settlement with Remington, the maker of the rifle.
___
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New details emerge in Officer Krystal Rivera's mistaken fatal shooting by her partner as man charged in connection with case is ordered detained
Moments before her death Thursday night, Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera and her partner were rushing after a person they'd just attempted to stop on suspicion of having a weapon when that suspect ran into an apartment building located at 8210 S. Drexel Blvd., prosecutors said Sunday. Inside one of the building's apartments, Assistant State's Attorney Joell Bisceliga said Rivera and her partner found Adrian Rucker, 25, standing behind a sofa with an AR-style pistol. The person they'd originally been chasing jumped over a couch and went down a hallway inside the apartment, Bisceglia said, while Rucker allegedly pointed the gun at Rivera's partner, who was standing in the doorway. Rivera's partner fired, Bisceglia said, but mistakenly hit Rivera as she pursued the original suspect. She died of a single gunshot wound to the back, the first Chicago police officer to die on-duty this year. Authorities on Saturday charged Rucker with armed violence, use of a firearm without a firearm owner's identification card, possession of a fake ID and drug possession. Cook County Judge Shauna Boliker on Sunday ordered Rucker, a Freeport resident with six previously issued arrest warrants, held pending trial. Rucker; a 26-year-old woman from Freeport; and the original suspect the officers had been chasing all got out of the apartment moments after the shooting, Bisceglia said. Rucker and the woman were both arrested about 20 minutes later, in the gated yard of a building at 8215 S. Maryland Ave. Rucker appeared in court wearing a blue button-up shirt with his hands cuffed behind his back while family members of Rivera sat huddled together in one of the first rows in Courtroom 100, marked 'police officers only.' Dozens of other uniformed beat officers, sergeants and department members crowded into the rows behind them. Bisceglia said he appeared pointing the rifle both on Rivera's partner's body-worn camera and on the apartment's internal surveillance camera, and that the officer who accidentally shot Rivera identified him in a photo array as the person who had pointed the rifle at him. The first suspect 'made good on his escape,' Bisceglia said. A Police Department representative declined to comment on whether that person had since been arrested, only saying that detectives continued to investigate the case. Officers searching the apartment found three guns, several magazines and several rounds of ammunition in the apartment, court records show. Those weapons included an AR-style pistol with an empty 60-round drum magazine, a Glock handgun and a black and tan AR-style pistol, Bisceglia said. Police also found a scale and numerous containers of suspected crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana, Bisceglia said. An open safe in the apartment held suspected heroin, she said, and about 20 fake ID cards that showed Rucker's picture from different states, including California and Ohio, were found in a kitchen cabinet. Authorities had previously issued six arrest warrants for Rucker. According to police sources, those warrants are for criminal damage to property, theft under $500, and two alleged instances of domestic battery, all out of Stephenson County in northwestern Illinois. He also had a warrant for aggravated identity theft out of northwest suburban Rolling Meadows and another for possession of fake identification out of Winnebago County, court records show. The woman had one active warrant, according to police sources. According to Cook County Court records, Rucker was first arrested in April 2024 for alleged aggravated identity theft in Rolling Meadows. He was released pending trial, records show, but failed to appear for a June court date and Judge Ellen Beth Mandeltort issued an arrest warrant in July 2024. Assistant Public Defender Joseph Stachler pointed out that the court had not yet received the body-worn camera footage or surveillance tape that anchored much of the state's attorney's proffer, and asked that Rucker be released pending trial to live with his mother and two brothers. Boliker ordered him held, citing his past criminal convictions for domestic violence, disorderly conduct and battery as well as past failures to appear for court. Rucker's next appearance is set for Thursday. The woman who was arrested with Rucker has not been charged with anything related to Rivera's death, but appeared in Cook County bond court Saturday regarding her arrest warrant out of Stephenson County, court records show. Her next court date is scheduled for Thursday. Rivera's death brought a wave of support messages from city leaders last week. Funeral information for her had not been released Sunday. ____
San Francisco Chronicle
32 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson to step down at year's end
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson will step down at the end of the year, creating a vacancy in one of the most powerful jobs in New Zealand sport. Robinson led New Zealand's national sport for six years, through the difficult period of the pandemic when matches often took place in empty stadiums. He also has guided the sport's national governing body through difficult financial times. New Zealand Rugby has reported substantial deficits in each of the last three years. Along with many national rugby unions, New Zealand has faced increasing costs in retaining top players. The almost 20 million New Zealand dollar deficit ($10.2 million) posted by NZR in the last financial year came despite record revenues, reflecting the increasing difficulty national rugy administrators face in making ends meet. Robinson oversaw the deal in which investment company Silver Lake paid more than 200 million dollars ($120 million) for a share of NZR's commercial revenues. The deal at first was opposed by the professional players' union but later allowed NZR to financially support provincial rugby unions after the pandemic. Robinson also was party to the decision to appoint Scott Robertson as All Blacks head coach months before Ian Foster's tenure finished. Foster led the All Blacks to the final of the 2023 World Cup in which they lost by one point to South Africa. Robinson on Monday said he's leaving to join his wife and family who have relocated to Australia. "The past six years have been a period of rapid change or unprecedented challenges through the pandemic and significant evolution across commercial, competitions and structures,' Robinson said in a statement. 'I will reflect on that as I get closer to stepping away but I firmly believe the foundations of our organization are extremely strong and the game is well-placed for the future.' Robinson succeeded Steve Tew as chief executive in 2019. He will leave prior to a reorganization which will see the incoming chief executive take charge of both New Zealand Rugby and New Zealand Rugby Commercial, the sporting and commercial parts of the game. ___
Fox Sports
32 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson to step down at year's end
Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson will step down at the end of the year, creating a vacancy in one of the most powerful jobs in New Zealand sport. Robinson led New Zealand's national sport for six years, through the difficult period of the pandemic when matches often took place in empty stadiums. He also has guided the sport's national governing body through difficult financial times. New Zealand Rugby has reported substantial deficits in each of the last three years. Along with many national rugby unions, New Zealand has faced increasing costs in retaining top players. The almost 20 million New Zealand dollar deficit ($10.2 million) posted by NZR in the last financial year came despite record revenues, reflecting the increasing difficulty national rugy administrators face in making ends meet. Robinson oversaw the deal in which investment company Silver Lake paid more than 200 million dollars ($120 million) for a share of NZR's commercial revenues. The deal at first was opposed by the professional players' union but later allowed NZR to financially support provincial rugby unions after the pandemic. Robinson also was party to the decision to appoint Scott Robertson as All Blacks head coach months before Ian Foster's tenure finished. Foster led the All Blacks to the final of the 2023 World Cup in which they lost by one point to South Africa. Robinson on Monday said he's leaving to join his wife and family who have relocated to Australia. "The past six years have been a period of rapid change or unprecedented challenges through the pandemic and significant evolution across commercial, competitions and structures,' Robinson said in a statement. 'I will reflect on that as I get closer to stepping away but I firmly believe the foundations of our organization are extremely strong and the game is well-placed for the future.' Robinson succeeded Steve Tew as chief executive in 2019. He will leave prior to a reorganization which will see the incoming chief executive take charge of both New Zealand Rugby and New Zealand Rugby Commercial, the sporting and commercial parts of the game. ___ AP rugby:
