"US supreme court will rule on $10bn suit Mexico filed against US gun makers", 04 October 2024

...The US supreme court said on Friday it will decide whether to block a $10bn lawsuit Mexico filed against US gun manufacturers and distributors that argues that their negligent and illegal commercial practices have unleashed bloodshed in the country.

The lawsuit, filed in Boston in August, names Smith & Wesson, Barrett Firearms, Beretta, Colt and Glock, as well as Boston-area wholesaler Interstate Arms.

The Mexican government says it wants to “put an end to the massive damage that the Defendants cause by actively facilitating the unlawful trafficking of their guns to drug cartels and other criminals in Mexico”.

Mexico says 70% of the weapons trafficked to Mexico come from the US, according to the foreign affairs ministry. In 2019 alone, at least 17,000 homicides were linked to trafficked weapons, it has said.

Alejandro Celorio, legal advisor for the Mexican government, has said the damage caused by the trafficked guns would be equal to 1.7% to 2% of Mexico’s GDP.

But the firearms industry, through its US lobbying body, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, has said the allegations in the lawsuit are “baseless”...

That case has been through a number of lower court rulings. It was initially tossed out by a district court, then revived by the first US circuit court of appeals. The gunmakers appealed that ruling to the supreme court, arguing they have followed lawful practices and the case has no business in US courts.

In August, US district judge Dennis Saylor dismissed the case against six of the eight companies, ruling that Mexico had not provided enough evidence that violence in the country was caused by US gun manufacturers’ negligence.

Now the supreme court has agreed to hear the gunmakers’ petition. Lawyers for Mexico defended the appeal court ruling’s rationale and argued that it was premature for the supreme court to take up the case...