The Mexican Lawsuit Is Only The Beginning.

The Supreme Court has made a reasonable ruling on tort law. Now it’s up to the Congress to continue this work.

Did you hear that God once decided to sue Satan? He dropped the idea when he remembered where all the lawyers were.

Tort law “refers to laws providing remedies to people or groups who have suffered harm by the unreasonable actions, be they intentional or unintentional, of another.” While the logic of this system is obvious, it, like other legal constructs, can be misused. Recently the Supreme Court struck down an illegitimate use of the tort system by a foreign government. `

Supreme Court unanimously blocks $10B lawsuit from Mexico against US gunmakers

The Supreme Court blocked a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against major U.S. gun manufacturers that claimed their business practices had helped fuel cartel violence in a significant win for the firearm industry.

Justices unanimously blocked the case under legislation that mostly bars gunmakers from liability when crimes are committed using their products. Justice Elena Kegan wrote in the decision that Mexico had not plausibly argued the U.S. gunmakers had aided in illegal gun sales to cartels and drug traffickers…

…The legal saga began in 2021 when Mexico’s government filed the suit against some of American’s largest gun companies like Smith & Wesson, Beretta and Glock.

It claimed that the companies knew weapons were being sold to traffickers and cartels that were smuggling them into Mexico, putting a burden on its police, military and judicial system. Mexico also said the industry was negligent in its marketing and distribution of high-capacity weapons. Despite have strict gun laws, thousands of them find their way into Mexico every year, 70% of which the Mexican government said come from the United States.

While no one questions gang violence is rampant in Mexico, a basic premise of the lawsuit is flawed. A false narrative has risen over the last two decades that 90% of the weapons used by Mexican gangs are from the US. To paraphrase Absence of Malice, “All of that is accurate. But none of it is true.”

Strategic Forecasting (STRATFOR) did an excellent analysis of this claim in 2011. In summary, “a 2009 Government Accounting Office report stated in 2008, 30,000 firearms were seized by the Mexican government. Of these weapons, 7,200 (24%) were submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Only 4,000 could be traced by ATF, and 3, 480 of the firearms were traced to the US.”

“In total, of the 30,000 weapons seized by the Mexican government, less than 12% were specifically linked to the US.

Many (if not most) of the weapons obtained by the “gangs come from Third World sources, while a large number had no serial number or other identifying information on them.” So the falsehood the Mexican case was based on fell apart in the court.

Why do I bring this up? Firearm manufactures are not the only industry that can be sued into oblivion. Automobile companies produce a legal product that is involved in the death of over 37,000 people a year in the US (and over 1.3 million worldwide). Alcoholic beverages are a 122-billion-dollar industry in this country. Alcohol is involved with DWI accidents leading to over 12,000 deaths (and tens of thousands of injuries) a year. Also diseases like alcoholism, Pancreatitis, and Diabetes. Any chance there are lawyers out with no shame (I know, rhetorical question) who would file a lawsuit based on these premises? Sure, but they would be willing to settle out of court for an acceptable amount of cash.

Far-fetched to say unscrupulous lawyers would target GM, Ford and Jack Daniels like this? Absolutely not. Small plane manufacturing was basically shut down for almost two decades after a manufacturer was held liable for an aircraft accident. In this accident, a pilot tried to take off with the runway blocked. The crash killed both the pilot and his passenger. The ensuring trial led to a court finding the plane manufacturer liable for this misuse of a place by the pilot. The passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, reformed liability, giving producers like Piper and Cessna a stable legal climate to work again.

The much-abused Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has led to lawsuits against motel owners whose swimming pools don’t have chairs for handicap persons. Law firms are using drones to take pictures of motels/hotels, then suing for a violation, even with no one spending time at the business. But they will settle for a quick ten-thousand.

There is no question President Trump and Speaker Johnson are busy right now. But a long-term goal is to start tort reform to shield legitimate American industries from groundless, but costly litigation. Off the top a form of loser pays, like in the United Kingdom or Germany, will slow frivolous lawsuits.

Also, let’s stop funding law schools with taxpayer money. God knows, we have enough. The US has 4% of the world’s people, yet 6.75% of the world’s lawyers. Of the 1.35 million practicing attorneys in the US, 25% live in NY or California (you wonder why productive people are running for Texas and Florida).

Just a few suggestions. But a worthy goal. Time to make American industry more confident in their future and make the American Bar Association worried about its future.

Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.

Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.

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