Court Revives Suit Against Gun Maker

A New Mexico Court of Appeals revived a lawsuit against a California handgun maker and a distributor, ruling they could be held liable for the injuries of a teenager accidentally shot by a friend. The ruling clears the way for a jury trial in Bernalillo County, N.M. The three-judge panel reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case.

The lawsuit was brought by the parents of Sean Smith against Bryco Arms, a Costa Mesa handgun maker, and Jennings Firearms Inc., its Nevada distributor. Smith, who was 14, was shot and injured in January 1993 at his house, while friends were passing around a .22-caliber handgun they believed was unloaded because the magazine had been removed.