The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 2005 law prevents Mexico from pursuing a lawsuit to hold U.S. gunmakers liable for $10 billion in damages for firearms that ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
The unanimous decision was based on a law known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which immunized gunmakers from most civil lawsuits stemming from “the criminal or unlawful misuse” of their weapons by others.
Although the law has exceptions, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the majority, the allegations in Mexico’s lawsuit didn’t meet the standard. Kagan wrote that the law requires that a gunmaker violate a state or federal law in selling a firearm to be sued for the later misuse of that firearm.
