Nat. Ass. of Manfacturers Fights Against Gun Lawsuits

The National Association of Manufacturers grasps the big picture
on this gun lawsuits. When manufacturers are liable for the
negligent or criminal use of products EVERY manufacturer in
this nation is in danger of being sued out of business.

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CONTACTS: DARREN McKINNEY
(202) 637-3093; QUENTIN RIEGEL (202) 637-3058

NAM ASKS ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT TO REVERSE

LOWER COURT???S ???PUBLIC NUISANCE??? RULING

Says Convoluted Legal Theory Threatens Countless Manufacturers of Lawful
Products

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2003 ??? Arguing that a lower court???s ruling against a

maker of handguns was based on legal theory that, if widely applied, could

result in bankruptcies for countless manufacturers of lawful products, the

National Association of Manufacturers today filed an amicus brief with
Illinois??? Supreme Court asking it to reverse the decision and leave
product
regulation to legislative bodies.

???Today it???s handguns, but tomorrow it could be power tools, golf clubs or
automobiles,??? said NAM Vice President for Litigation Quentin Riegel.
???Manufacturers of perfectly lawful, properly designed and
well-functioning products can???t rationally be held liable for third-party
actions that may result in harm to another.

???Should the golf club maker be held liable for the death of Martha Moxley?

Should an SUV maker be held liable because an embittered wife decided to
run
her cheating husband over with one? Of course not, and both common sense
and
the law tell us so,??? continued Riegel.

???In this gun case,??? known as Young v. Bryco Arms, Riegel explained, ???the
appellate court allowed plaintiffs??? attorneys to retool a ???public
nuisance???
theory, even though that theory has been rejected by other state and
federal
courts on numerous occasions and for good reason.

???If the lower court???s holding stands, it will reverberate far beyond the
firearms industry,??? Riegel added. ???It threatens to seriously undermine
the
ability of any manufacturer to produce and sell products that are lawful
and
non-defective, simply because those products may be criminally misused.
And
let???s not kid ourselves; such misuse could result in disastrously high
jury
awards that could well bankrupt countless upstanding companies.

???Even if American manufacturers didn???t already face litigation costs that
dwarf those of foreign competitors; even if our manufacturing sector
weren???t
mired in an anemic economic recovery that threatens further job loss; and
even if the health of manufacturing weren???t critical to both our country???s

economic and national security, the type of ???regulating from the bench???
undertaken by the Illinois appellate court would have no basis in law and
would be a very bad thing,??? concluded Riegel. -NAM-