Supreme Court tosses Mexico’s $10B lawsuit claiming US gunmakers have
fueled cartel violence
[June 06, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out a $10 billion
lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the U.S. that
claimed the companies’ business practices were helping fuel cartel
violence plaguing the country.
In a victory for the firearm industry, the unanimous ruling tossed out
the case under a U.S. law that largely shields gunmakers from liability
when their firearms are used in crime.
Congress passed the law two decades ago to halt a flurry of lawsuits
against gunmakers that were similar to the case Mexico filed, Justice
Elena Kagan wrote. Her opinion overturned a lower court order that let
the suit go forward because the companies themselves were accused of
violating the law.
Kagan wrote that Mexico's lawsuit made no plausible argument that the
companies had knowingly helped gun trafficking into the country.
“It does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any
specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly)
assisted,” Kagan wrote.
Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it strongly disagreed with the
decision and would continue its fight against firearm trafficking.
“Mexico has presented solid arguments demonstrating the harm that arms
manufacturing companies cause to our country," it said in a statement.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed to a second suit the country
filed in 2022 against five gun shops and distributors in Arizona. “We’re
going to see what the result is, and we’ll let you know," she said.
Mexico has strict gun laws and has just one store where people can
legally buy firearms. But thousands of guns are smuggled in by the
country’s powerful drug cartels every year.
The Mexican government says at least 70% of those weapons come from the
United States. The lawsuit claimed that companies knew weapons were
being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and decided to
cash in on that market.
The Mexican government first filed its blockbuster suit in 2021 against
some of the biggest gun companies, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta,
Colt and Glock.
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The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17,
2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The companies have long rejected Mexico’s allegations, arguing the
country came can't show they’re responsible for a relatively few
people using their products to commit violence. “We are gratified
that the Supreme Court agreed that we are not legally responsible
for criminals misusing that product to hurt people, much less
smuggling it to Mexico to be used by drug cartels,” said attorney
Noel Francisco, who represented Smith & Wesson.
The trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation also applauded
the ruling, adding that gunmakers work with U.S. authorities to
prevent gun trafficking. “This is a tremendous victory for the
firearm industry and the rule of law,” said Lawrence Keane, senior
vice president and general counsel.
A federal judge originally tossed out the lawsuit under the 2005
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but the First U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston revived it under an exception for
cases that allege companies engaged in illegal business practices.
That exception has come up in other cases, including in lawsuits
stemming from mass shootings.
Families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, for example, argued it
applied to their lawsuit because the gunmaker had violated state law
in the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used in the shooting, in which
20 first graders and six educators were killed.
The families eventually secured a landmark $73 million settlement
with Remington, the maker of the rifle.
The Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t appear to foreclose those cases,
said David Pucino, legal director at the Giffords Law Center to
Prevent Gun Violence. “All survivors, in the United States, in
Mexico, and anywhere else, deserve their day in court, and we will
continue to support them in their fight for justice,” he said.
___
Associated Press writers Fabiola Sánchez and Megan Janetsky in
Mexico City contributed to this story.
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