under fair use…..

Gun owners aren’t held liable for safekeeping

Appeals court ruling follows case involving man who stole his parents’ gun
and shot an Allen County police officer.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 25, 2001
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that gun owners do not have a duty
to the public to reasonably care for their firearms.
The 2-1 decision upholds a trial court decision dismissing a lawsuit
against the owners of a gun used to kill an Allen County police officer.
Deputy Eryk Heck was killed when he exchanged fire with burglary suspect
Timothy Stoffer on Aug. 15, 1997. Stoffer, who also died, stole the gun
used in the shootout from his parents.
The Heck family sued Ray and Patricia Stoffer, in 1999, claiming Timothy
Stoffer had criminal and violent tendencies and his parents had a duty to
ensure that he did not gain access to the handgun used to kill Heck.
The appeals court said that some Indiana cases require reasonable care in
other contexts, such as by dog owners or people waxing a public floor.
Those cases are different, though, because they don’t involve a
constitutionally protected right, the decision said.
“I’m happy. It was a good decision,” said David Hawk, the Stoffers’
attorney. “You can’t owe a duty to the whole world. If so, then no one can
do anything without fear of liability.”
Hawk said he hoped the decision would bring some closure to the tragedy,
but he said he believed the case likely would be appealed to the Indiana
Supreme Court.
John Theisen, the attorney representing the Heck family, said he will
recommend to his clients that they appeal.
“It is a cutting-edge question that courts are going to have to address,”
Theisen said.
Judge Patrick Sullivan dissented, saying the Stoffers knew of the
likelihood that their son might break the law.
“The duty of reasonable care is owed to the persons who foreseeably might
be injured by unauthorized possession and use of the gun,” Sullivan said.
“Deputy Heck was just such a person.”