Halberstam v. Daniel and the Uncertain Future of Negligent Marketing Claims against Firearms Manufacturers

Abstract

Criminal misuse of firearms is a widespread social problem in America. Each year, more than 600,000 violent crimes involving firearms are reported in the United States. Gun murders have surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of unnatural death in New York, California, and Texas. As a result, many crime victims and their families have turned to the tort system seeking compensation for their losses.

Since the early 1980s, victims and their families have filed dozens of lawsuits against firearms manufacturers for their role in making weapons widely available for criminal misuse. To date, none of these lawsuits has been successful, and only one case has ever reached a jury. That case, Halberstam v. S.W. Daniel, Inc., signals the uncertain future of tort claims against firearms manufacturers by crime victims.

Keywords: gun industry litigation, gun control, negligent marketing