CONCORD, N.H. (Legal newsline) - A federal judge won't change a jury's verdict that found a gun manufacturer not liable for injuries sustained by a man who said his firearm went off without the trigger being pulled.
New Hampshire federal judge Landya McCafferty issued a 19-page judgment that said while she found the version of events put forth by plaintiff Kyle Guay credible, he failed to meet the burden to prove SIG Sauer violated New Hampshire deceptive trade practices law.
"The court has found that Guay’s pistol fired without him pulling the trigger. Sig Sauer, therefore, represented the P320 was of one quality when it was of another," she wrote.
"The question, then, is whether Sig Sauer knew the representation was false or had a reckless disregard for its truth. As an initial matter, (Sig Sauer design engineer Sean Toner) testified that Sig Sauer tested the P320’s safety mechanisms under the applicable industry safety procedures, and that the P320 satisfied the relevant standards. There is no evidence to the contrary."
The plaintiff also failed to show SIG Sauer was aware of another accident in which a seatbelt caused a police officer's P320 to fire. Guay bought his gun in December 2016, and the company did not see that video until January 2019, the judgment says.
On July 25, a jury answered no to five questions as to whether the company was liable for Guay's injuries.
Guay’s lawsuit said he had a SIG Sauer P320 in its holster in January 2020. As he removed the holster from his waistband, the gun fired, he claimed, allowing a hollow point bullet to pierce his right thigh. The incident caused nerve damage, his suit said.
But the company – which faces similar lawsuits brought by a personal injury lawyer it has sued in return – successfully fended off the accusations.
Meanwhile, other suits from lawyer Jeffrey Bagnell are pending. SIG Sauer’s lawsuit against the attorney was recently transferred to Connecticut federal court.
SIG Sauer’s lawsuit alleges a video on Bagnell’s website and on YouTube has a computer-generated animation about an alleged defect in the P320 that causes it to fire on its own. The case says the video incorrectly depicts the gun’s design and makes claims about its mechanics that are physically impossible.
In March, the company moved for a preliminary injunction requiring him to remove the video permanently. The video is currently removed, pending a court decision, but it has seen at least 36,000 times on YouTube.