Posted on 12/10/2004 6:03:40 PM PST by SmithL
SEATTLE -- A judge has signed off on a $2.5 million settlement between relatives of Washington, D.C.-area sniper victims and a gun shop and weapon maker connected to the shootings.
In the settlement reached in September, Bull's Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma agreed to pay $2 million to two survivors and six families related to the victims of snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. Gun manufacturer Bushmaster Firearms of Windham, Maine, agreed to pay the remaining $500,000.
Bushmaster made the weapon used in the shootings, which the pair reportedly stole from Bull's Eye. The families' lawsuit alleged that the shop's owners were negligent in allowing that gun and others to disappear, and that Bushmaster was at fault for shipping the gun to an irresponsible dealer.
It marked the first time a gun manufacturer has agreed to pay damages to settle claims of negligent distribution of weapons, according to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which helped the families file the lawsuit.
Judge Frank E. Cuthbertson approved the settlement Dec. 3 in Tacoma, though his order was filed under seal, the court said Friday.
Sonia Wills, the mother of victim Conrad Johnson, said $2.5 million "is nothing."
"They know they're worth more than that,"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
bump
What's next? Knife manufacturers and stores selling them?
Enough of crippling "lawsuits"! This is travesty!!!
This isn't the first time that Bushmaster has sought the line of least resistence.
Anyone, and I mean ANY-ONE, that held an FFL and Bushmaster orders during the 1994 Crime bill will recall their efforts to stop filling existing orders, and then, to gouge paid customers for orders already paid. These SOB's simply set out to rip the 2A community off during a period of great uncertainty.
Truth is, Bushmaster, like some other manufacturers before them, used the excuse of political climate and sought to hide their compliance with anti-2A government forces by siding with the government instead of the people.
Screw Bushmaster.
Just my $0.02 worth.
The manufacturer could have liability for knowingly or negligently selling to a dealer that ignored the law. In this case, liability on that theory was not improbable. A kickin of $500 thousand was not irrational, and we get no court decision that will come back to hurt some other manufacturer in the future.
The Moral: You pick your battles. This was one that was not winnable.
Don't forget, you ARE your keeper's brother.
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