Supreme Court of Illinois

In consolidated cases seeking to recover from gun manufacturers and dealers for crimes involving illegal firearms used by minors or young adults who obtained weapons from minors under public nuisance, motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action for public nuisance is affirmed. The supreme court noted that the field of gun manufacture and use is already highly regulated, that there are no allegations that these defendants had done anything illegal and that there are strong reasons for deferring to the legislature in the matter of the regulation of firearms.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/18/2004
• Published 06/12/2007

Judges

• Justice GARMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

Court

• Supreme Court of Illinois

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Melissa Anne Maye, Yorkville, for appellant BrycoArms, Inc., Robert L. Michels, of Winston & Strawn, Chicago, and Jeffrey S. Nelson and Tina M. Schaefer, of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P., Kansas City, Missouri, for appellant Smith & Wesson Corporation., Mary Kay Scott and Stephen A. Kolodziej, of Brenner, Ford & Monroe, Ltd., Chicago, for appellant Breit & Johnson Sporting Goods, Inc., William N. Howard, Daniel J. Voelker and Fred Foreman, of Freeborn & Peters, L.L.P., Chicago, for appellants Chuck's Gun Shop et al., Gino L. DiVito and Marnie A. Jensen, of Tabet, DiVito & Rothstein, L.L.C., Chicago, for amicus curiae National Association of Manufacturers., James M. Beck, of Dechert, L.L.P., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Hugh F. Young, Jr., Reston, Virginia, of counsel), for amicus curiae Product Liability Advisory Council., Peter R. Coladarci, Chicago, for amicus curiae Illinois Trial Lawyer's Association., Gary S. Feinerman, Solicitor General, and Brett E. Legner and Laura Wunder, Assistant Attorneys General, Chicago, for amicus curiae Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of the State of Illinois.


• For Appellees:
  
• Jonathan K. Baum, James C. Murray, Jr., Bradley S. Rochlen and Kathy P. Josephson, of Katten, Muchin, Zavis & Rosenman, Thomas H. Geoghegan, of Depres, Schwartz & Geoghegan, and Locke E. Bowman and Jean MacLean Snyder, Chicago, for appellees.