Delana v. Odessa Gun & Pawn

[billh58]

Attorneys representing Janet Delana of Lafayette County, MO, announced a $2.2 million settlement in their precedent-setting case against a Missouri gun dealer that, despite warning from Janet, sold a gun to her severely mentally ill daughter. The daughter then used the gun to shoot and kill Janet's husband, Tex Delana. This case, brought by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence's Legal Action Project and Missouri lawyers Annette Griggs, David McCollum, and Jane Francis, won a landmark decision from the Missouri Supreme Court, which unanimously held that gun dealers in Missouri can be held responsible for selling a gun to someone who they have reason to believe is too dangerous to buy a weapon.

That decision set legal precedent that can be used to hold gun dealers across the country accountable for negligently supplying dangerous people with guns. The lawsuit alleged Janet Delana called Odessa Gun & Pawn and told the manager her adult daughter had a long history of severe mental illness and should not be sold a gun. Janet testified in a deposition that she said to Odessa: "I'm begging you. I'm begging you as a mother, if she comes in, please don't sell her a gun." Despite this plea, Odessa sold a gun to Janet's daughter two days later and within an hour, Janet's husband of forty years was dead. In a 2014 deposition, the store's owner testified that, despite knowing the tragic outcome of the sale, the store would do nothing differently if faced with the same circumstances.

Jonathan Lowy, lead counsel for Delana and Director of the Brady Center's Legal Action Project, said: "Today's settlement sends the latest resounding message to gun dealers across the country that if they don't clean up their act, they will be forced to pay the consequences when they choose to irresponsibly arm dangerous people with guns. The gun industry and their insurance companies are waking up to the reality that whether jurors are conservative or progressive, gun-owners or not, they will hold gun stores accountable for irresponsibly supplying dangerous people with guns. Although Lafayette County, Missouri is a rural, politically conservative area, and home to a Remington Arms manufacturing facility, we still achieved this tremendous result for our client."

Mr. Lowy said: "While most gun dealers already are responsible businesspeople who take great care to prevent dangerous people from getting their hands on guns, litigation is increasingly cracking down on the small number of bad apple gun dealers who irresponsibly supply criminals. The Brady Center is committed to changing the financial calculus by taking the profit out of supplying the criminal gun market, and making sure bad apple gun dealers are held responsible wherever they are."

http://www.bradycampaign.org/our-impact/success-stories/delana-v-odessa-gun-pawn

Again, the gun control movement is using the right-wing gun lobby's own tactics against them, and winning. The Second Amendment extremist minority (from both political parties) is becoming more frightened that Americans as a whole are waking up to the fact that the gun violence epidemic has gotten out-of-hand in this country, and more than willing to take action to stop it.

The case cited in this article is just one more precedent-setting move towards meaningful and sensible gun control.

[flamin lib]

1. The PLCAA has been used as a shield for irresponsible dealers and manufacturers

for far too long. Even when a gun dealer loses a case the PLCAA makes the prosecution extremely expensive and difficult.

In the case of Elizabeth Shirley whose felon son was sold a gun and used it to kill himself and her 8 year old grandson it took ten years and went all the way to the Kansas Supreme court to get a $132,000 settlement from the dealer. How about that, an 8 year old boy is worth $132,000. That's the way things are in gun world.

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/09/420576176/kansas-lawsuit-settlement-sets-standard-for-gun-seller-liability

Still, when the question goes to PEOPLE instead of corrupt politicians owned by the NRA common sense wins out.