November 23, 2024
Back in 2022, the Mexican government brought suit in the U.S. District Court against leading members of the American firearms industry, seeking billions of dollars in damages for the harms inflicted by Mexican drug cartels. According to the complaint, the firearms companies’ business practices over the course of decades, including selling semi-automatic rifles, making magazines that hold over ten rounds and failing to impose various sales restrictions, created a surfeit of firearms that were later smuggled across the border for use by the cartels in various criminal endeavors (Mexico has strict gun regulations, and Wikipedia tells us that there are only two firearm retailers in the entire country).
Unsurprisingly, the defendants moved to dismiss the case under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which generally bars suits against firearms companies when their products are used in criminal enterprises, and the district court granted the motion. On appeal, however, the First Circuit reversed on the ground that the complaint alleged that the defendants deliberately aided and abetted the unlawful sale of firearms to purchasers supplying weapons to the cartels and that, accordingly, the PLCAA did not apply. (Fun fact #1: About half a million weapons manufactured by the named defendants are smuggled into Mexico evert year. Fun fact #2: Nearly half of all firearms recovered at Mexican crime scenes are manufactured by the defendants).
Unsurprisingly, the defendants appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which, unsurprisingly, granted certiorari. Oral arguments have been scheduled for March.
I am notoriously bad at predicting the future, but the mere fact that the Court granted certiorari at this early stage of the proceedings suggests that this lawsuit may not have much of a future.