Appellants filed an action against the manufacturer
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Description
Appellants filed an action against the manufacturer, its parent company, and officers, alleging liability arising out of the criminal use of one of the "Saturday Night Special" guns made by the manufacturer and used by appellee shooter. The trial court granted a motion to dismiss to the manufacturer, parent company, and officers, for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The court of appeals certified the question concerning liability. The court held that appellants could not hold the manufacturer liable on a theory that the manufacturer had a duty to warn because the potential danger of a gun was generally known and recognized. The court held that appellants could not hold the manufacturer liable on a theory of abnormally dangerous activity because the manufacture and marketing of a handgun, in and of itself, did not directly result in the injury. The court rejected the theory that it should impose liability on the manufacturer based on a theory that a "Saturday Night Special" had no social utility beyond being used for criminal activity. The manufacturer was not liable for negligence because the harm resulted from the criminal act of a third party.
