Supreme Court seems likely to block Mexico's $10 billion lawsuit against
US gun makers
[March 05, 2025]
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed likely Tuesday to block a $10
billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top firearm manufacturers in the
U.S. alleging the companies have fueled cartel gun violence.
Both liberal and conservative justices appeared skeptical that the
claims could clear hurdles in U.S. law that largely shield gun makers
from lawsuits when their products are used in crime.
Big-name manufacturers like Smith & Wesson appealed to the justices
after a lower court let the suit go forward under an exception for
situations where gun companies are accused of violating the law.
An attorney for Mexico argued the case over economic harm linked to gun
violence is still in its early stages and should be allowed go forward.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, though, pointed to arguments that many
products, from baseball bats to prescription drugs, can misused, and a
flood of lawsuits could hurt the U.S. economy. “That's a real concern, I
think, for me, about accepting your theory,” he said.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said it appeared that the lawsuit
ultimately seeks “changes to the firearm industry” of the kind that the
shield law was aiming to forestall.
Justice Samuel Alito raised questions about whether U.S. states could
file suit against Mexico for “illegal conduct” it links to activities
there.
The arguments coincidently come as President Donald Trump’s
long-threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada go into effect. Trump
has said the tariffs are aimed in part on forcing the two U.S. neighbors
to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking and stop illegal
immigration.
The case began four years ago, when the Mexican government filed its
blockbuster suit against some of the biggest gun companies, including
Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt and Glock Inc.
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The Supreme Court at sunset in Washington, Feb. 13, 2016. (AP
Photo/Jon Elswick, File)
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 claims that companies knew weapons
were being sold to traffickers who smuggled them into Mexico and
decided to cash in on that market.
The companies reject Mexico's allegations, arguing the country comes
nowhere close to showing they're responsible for a relatively few
people using their products to commit violence.
A federal judge tossed out the lawsuit under a 2005 law that
protects gun companies from most civil lawsuits, but an appeals
court revived it. They found it fell under an exception to the
shield law for situations in which firearm companies are accused of
knowingly violating the law in their sales or marketing.
That exception has come up in other cases.
The victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook, for example,
argued it applied to their lawsuit because the gun maker had
violated state law in the marketing of the AR-15 rifle used on the
shooting, in which 20 first graders and six educators were killed.
The Supreme Court's eventual ruling, expected by late June, could
also affect other similar lawsuits stemming from mass shootings.
That aspect of the case didn't appear to be a heavy focus during
oral arguments, however. Smith & Wesson attorney Noel Francisco said
in a statement that the exceptions aren't relevant because Mexico
can't show a direct connection between the companies business
practices and cartel violence.
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