Judge Upholds Ruling Against Gun Makers

Three gun makers lost a bid to overturn a landmark jury verdict ordering them to pay $520,000 in damages to a shooting victim. The ruling by a federal judge upholding the award could open the door to more suits seeking to make the firearms industry pay the tab for violent crime. U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn, N.Y., said the $520,000 award was supported by the evidence presented during the trial earlier this year. Gun makers had asked Weinstein to overturn the February verdict in which 15 companies were found negligent for New York City-area shootings, and three of them--Forjas Taurus of Brazil’s Taurus International Manufacturing Inc., Beretta USA Corp. and American Arms Inc.--were ordered to pay $520,000 in damages to one plaintiff and $6,500 to his mother.