Supreme Court of California

Under Civ. Code 1714.4(a), a gun manufacturer may not be held liable for negligence on the basis that the benefits of its product do not outweigh the risk of injury posed by the product's potential to cause serious injury when discharged.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/06/2001
• Published 08/06/2001

Judges

• CHIN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
•  Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Dennis A. Henigan, Brian J. Siebel and Allen K. Rostron for Plaintiffs and Appellants., McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, Jane Elizabeth Lovell, San Francisco, Frank N. Hinman, Philip A. Ferrari;  Vaca, Vaca & Ritter, Werner & Burke and Christopher G. Ritter for Plaintiffs and Appellants Marilyn Merrill, Donald Michael Merrill, Kristin Merrill and Michael Merrill., Alper & McCulloch and Dean A. Alper, San Francisco, for Plaintiff and Appellant Charles Lewis Ross., Cotchett & Pitre, Frank M. Pitre and Mark Molumphy, Burlingame, for Plaintiff and Appellant Michelle Scully., Law Offices of Mitchell J. Green and Mitchell J. Green for Plaintiffs and Appellants Deanna L. Eaves and Roy B. Eaves., Jaffe, Trutanich, Scatena & Blum and Fred M. Blum, San Francisco, for Plaintiffs and Appellants Carol Marie Kingsley, Zachary Kingsley Berman and Jack Berman., Morrison & Foerster, James B. Bennett, Cam Baker and Kimberly Echardt for Plaintiffs and Appellants Stephen Sposato, Jody Jones Sposato and Meghan Sposato., Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Frederick Brown and Carl W. Chamberlain for Plaintiffs and Appellants Carol Ernsting and David Sutcliffe., LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, Charles Ferguson, San Francisco, and Michael B. Schwarz for the Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Latham & Watkins, Ernest J. Getto, Karen R. Leviton, Los Angeles, and Tanya M. Acker for Defendant and Respondent., John H. Findley, Sacramento, and Stephen R. McCutcheon for Pacific Legal Foundation as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.,  Hugh F. Young, Jr., and Harvey M. Grossman for the Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.