CONCORD, N.H. (Legal Newsline) - A man who says he was shot when the gun he was carrying malfunctioned wants a jury verdict against him changed.
Kyle Guay on Oct. 11 moved for a new trial or an amended judgment in his case against gun-maker SIG Sauer, whose P320 pistol is alleged to have seriously injured Guay when it went off without the trigger being pulled.
A New Hampshire federal jury ruled for SIG Sauer in July, and the judge presiding over the case refused to alter that decision in September. Judge Landya McCafferty found the version of events put forth by Guay credible but said he failed to meet the burden to prove SIG Sauer violated New Hampshire deceptive trade practices law.
"(T)he court wrote that Guay 'relied on' the language in two SIG press releases that 'persuaded' him there was no safety concerns with his P320 and he saw no reason o send it to repair," the motion says.
"Guayrespectfully contends that this was an error of fact. SIG's failure to communicate to Guay that vibration could make his P320 fail was a basis for his deceptive practices claim under the (Consumer Protection Act), i.e., that SIG did not inform him that vibration could make it fire - and instead expressly assured him that it was 'safe' in its current configuration."
Guay also says the court was wrong to find there was no evidence introduced at trial that SIG Sauer had a reason to issue a recall. He says a 2017 press release admits to "recent events" indicating vibration could make the pistol misfire.
"This constituted an admission and direct evidence of knowledge on SIG's part of non-drop-related discharges of the P320 as of Aug. 4, 2017, at the latest," the motion says. "Moreover, the release was issued some 2.5 years before Guay's P320 neary killed him."
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.