As Alabama prosecutors remain tight-lipped about an alleged accidental shooting killing an Auburn University graduate, a veteran trial attorney warns the family's lawsuit against the gunmaker may face a major obstacle from federal liability protections for firearms manufacturers.
Jeffrey Towers, fifty-four, is accused of inadvertently shooting his son's twenty-two-year-old girlfriend Whitney Robeson, an Auburn alumna who had just launched her interior design career weeks before her death in March. Robeson died about an hour after Towers allegedly discharged an antique .22-caliber revolver, striking her in the chest, according to the lawsuit.
"How do you analyze the manufacturing safety of an antique firearm? That's going to be a hurdle over which they're going to have a difficult time getting over. Proving a defective manufacturing claim on an antique .22-caliber revolver will be extremely challenging."
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 protects firearms manufacturers from certain lawsuits but has an exception for defective products. Attorney Paul Calli said the law could prove to be a major obstacle since the case involves an antique revolver and proving defective manufacturing on century-old firearms presents substantial legal challenges.
Jefferson County prosecutors filed manslaughter charges against Towers earlier this month, shortly before Robeson's family filed wrongful death lawsuit against Towers and fifteen unnamed entities including the gunmaker. However, the civil suit's unusual early timing and failure to publicly identify the gunmaker raise questions about whether the suit will proceed or be stayed pending the criminal case's resolution.
Federal firearms liability law protects manufacturers from lawsuits except for defective products, reflecting congressional judgment that responsible gun owners and manufacturers shouldn't face liability for criminal or negligent users. Whether an antique firearm meets modern manufacturing safety standards presents complex questions about how contemporary safety expectations apply to centuries-old weapons.
The lawsuit against the gunmaker faces substantial obstacles from federal liability protections designed preventing manufacturers from facing lawsuits for how users handle weapons. While Robeson's death is tragic, proving the antique firearm was defectively manufactured presents nearly insurmountable legal challenges. Responsibility for the shooting lies with whoever discharged the weapon, not the manufacturer of an old gun used decades after manufacture. Courts must protect Second Amendment protections and firearms manufacturers from frivolous liability suits exploiting tragedy to circumvent federal law protecting them from responsibility for user negligence.