That effort is history, however, after Nevada’s Clark County Superior Court tossed the lawsuit aside on Monday. Last year’s filing claimed that the company’s production of AR-15-style rifles placed its financial wellbeing in jeopardy.
The court already determined in March that there was not a “substantial likelihood” that the historic company would be found liable. The court found that the shareholders were apparently not supporting the company’s best interests.
To continue their lawsuit, the plaintiffs were required to post a $500,000 bond. The April 23 deadline passed without the sum being posted, leading to this week’s dismissal.
Among the plaintiffs were the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Sisters of Bon Secours USA, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary.
In targeting directors and upper management of Smith & Wesson, the litigants asserted the defendants “knowingly allowed the Company to become exposed to significant liability for intentionally violating federal, state and local laws through its manufacturing, marketing and sales of AR-15-style rifles and similar semi-automatic firearms.”
The suit acknowledged the federal protection afforded weapons manufacturers by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
But the undoubtedly well-intentioned nuns said Smith & Wesson negated that protection through its manufacture of semi-automatic weapons.
The legal action brought by the activist shareholding nuns is a derivative lawsuit. These filings attempt to hold corporate boards liable for alleged failure in their duties to protect shareholder interests.
It is common, however, for courts to rule in favor of boards if they are believed to have acted in good faith.
The nuns’ lawsuit, if successful, would have pinned liability on board members for costs associated with what the plaintiffs claimed was the illegal marketing of so-called “assault rifles.” Any damages awarded would have to be paid to Smith & Wesson, not the litigants.
An attorney for the plaintiffs, Jeffrey Norton, asserted that the suit was the first derivative case brought against the weapons industry over “assault rifles.”
This latest tussle was not the first between Catholic sisters and the weapons industry. In 2018, a group of 14 church organizations led by Sister Judy Byron presented a proposal at an annual Smith & Wesson shareholders meeting to push the company to report on progress on “safety” issues.
The controversial effort was supported by activist investment fund giants BlackRock and Vanguard.
This resulted in fellow shareholders passing a resolution to issue such a report.
Former Smith & Wesson CEO James Debney shot down the proposal. He declared it to be “politically motivated” and expressed his “disappointment” that the controversy came to light at a shareholders meeting and not in state legislatures.
Debney further described the resolution as part of “an anti-firearms agenda designed to harm the company.”
There is unquestionably a tug of war between anti-gun forces and those who seek to protect the Second Amendment. This latest battle went the way of advocates of constitutional rights, but the war still rages.
New York, California and Illinois have either banned “assault weapons” or opened avenues to sue manufacturers over their misuse by criminals.
On the other hand, the U.S. Supreme Court clearly planted its flag on the side of gun rights in 2022’s landmark Bruen decision. The majority rolled back the clock against increasing encroachments of personal liberties and reestablished the Bill of Rights as the law of the land.
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