CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A 2-month-old law in New Hampshire that makes it harder to sue gunmaker Sig Sauer was discussed in court Monday, but it hasn't yet been incorporated into the latest case accusing the company of negligence.
Attorneys for Sig Sauer argue the law should apply to the case, filed in March, even though the law didn’t exist at the time. Lawyers for the plaintiffs disagree, saying the law “has zero implication” and only applies to future lawsuits against the gunmaker
The law was created by the Republican-led Legislature in response to mounting lawsuits faced by the gunmaker over its popular P320 pistol. The lawsuits say the gun can go off without the trigger being pulled, and many of the plaintiffs are current and former law enforcement officers who say they were wounded by the gun.
Sig Sauer, which is headquartered in Newington and employs over 2,000 people in the state, said the gun is safe and the problem is user error.
Several large, multi-plaintiff cases have been filed since 2022 in New Hampshire's federal court, representing nearly 80 people who accuse Sig Sauer of defective product design, marketing, and negligence. That's in addition to lawsuits filed in other states.
They say the P320 design requires an external mechanical safety, a feature that is optional. The most recent New Hampshire case, representing 22 plaintiffs in 16 states, was filed in March. A judge heard arguments Monday on Sig Sauer's motions to dismiss the lawsuit or break it up and transfer it to districts where the plaintiffs live.
Judge Joseph LaPlante, who has yet to rule on the motion, mentioned the new law, which prohibits product liability claims against Sig Sauer and other gun manufactures based on the “absence or presence” of the external safety and several other optional features. Claims can still be filed over manufacturing defects.
“Doesn't this new law make it more advantageous for you to keep this case here?” he asked an attorney for the gunmaker, Christopher Monson. After Monson said Sig Sauer hasn't yet prepared a formal filing related to the new law, LaPlante pointed out a possible problem with the wording of the law's effective date.
The law says it shall apply to cases filed on or after May 23, and that it shall not affect “any claim that has been fully adjudicated, settled, or dismissed” before that. It does not, however, specify whether pending cases are affected.
“I know you're not making the argument yet, but you're going to, so it makes me wish someone took a closer look at that before passing it,” he said.
New Hampshire was the chosen location because federal rules allow lawsuits against a company in its home state, the plaintiff's attorneys say. Those lawsuits have been assigned to one federal judge in Concord. Sig Sauer is trying to decentralize the case, they say.
Sig Sauer has prevailed in some cases. It has appealed two recent multimillion-dollar verdicts against it, in Pennsylvania and Georgia. A judge recently allowed the Pennsylvania verdict to stand, but vacated $10 million in punitive damages awarded to the plaintiff.
