Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Smith & Wesson Shareholder Nuns Sue Over AR-15 Rifles

even Babylon Bee can't compete with this schidt...

What sh it?

A group of nuns, with shares of stock in Smith & Wesson, have filed an unusual lawsuit against the gun manufacturer in an effort to change the way it makes and markets the AR-15 rifle.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the nuns filed a shareholder derivative action in Nevada state court on Tuesday against publicly traded Smith & Wesson. They argue the company's leaders are putting shareholders at risk and exposing the company to liability with the way they manufacture and sell the popular rifle, which has been used in several recent mass shootings.

While such complaints are common with publicly-traded companies, lawyers the Journal spoke with said it seems to be the first time one has been filed against a gun maker.


The nuns are reportedly not major shareholders in Smith & Wesson and together own approximately 1,000 shares of the company; the small portion allows the group to raise questions about governance, however.

According to the Journal, the 47-page suit was filed in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas by the Adrian Dominican Sisters in Adrian, Mich.; the Sisters of Bon Secours USA, based in Marriottsville, Md.; the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, based in Aston, Pa.; and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary, U.S.-Ontario Province, based in Marylhurst, Ore.

The complaint alleges that the gun manufacturer's marketing actions "played a significant role in contributing to many of the most heinous gun crimes in United States history." Smith & Wesson promoted its guns in ads that simulated first-person shooter video games, which are "appealing to young and predominantly male consumers," the suit says.

Jeffrey Norton, a partner with New York law firm Newman Ferrara and the lead attorney for the nuns, told the Journal the legal tactic has worked in other industries.

"The theory we are pursuing has been successful in a lot of different situations, but it's novel in pursuing it with the gun industry," he said.

The nuns are trying to push the company to change its marketing strategy and curb the appeal of the AR-15 to teenagers, younger men, and disturbed people.

"We're trying to get it out of the hands of troubled people," Norton said.


They are also calling for more stringent safety standards for how the semiautomatic rifle is made so that it cannot be easily modified by gun owners to mimic a machine gun.

The legal action comes amid a surge of lawsuits against gun makers that were brought following a $73 million settlement between Remington and the families of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun companies, called the lawsuit frivolous.

"This same group has been filing shareholder proposals and losing so I guess they're trying a new tactic," he told the Journal.

Joe Kavan, an attorney who represents gun makers, said it was an unusual approach and the case will be heavily scrutinized.

"It will get a great deal of publicity initially and if they get an activist judge it may survive summary judgment," he told the Journal. "But, with most judges, I can't see how it will survive. It's just too speculative."

Bunch of gun-grabbing commie bìtches.

Somebody should buy stock in a dìldo manufacturer and sue it for appealing to nuns.

You can stop right there.

If any shareholder, of any company, deems the risk to high, they are free to sell the stock.

Case closed.

What the fahq do a bunch of penguin twats know about marketing?

Nuns are freaks. Lol, had a coworker that had a bunch of Nuns that walked in his neighborhood, him and hid buds would shoot the Nuns in the ass with BB's out of wrist rockets, he said they'd chase them around trying to catch them.

Lol, I can see him now telling the story and laughing his ass off.

Them nuns can go get phuqued.

Nothing stated in your post there about why it's been filed in Las Vegas? Is it related to the concert shooting? And it's filed in a local court, not National. Hoping to get it tossed and then appeal to higher authority?

Learned about the shareholder tactic years ago when proposed by some liberal fations at the Univ. I attended.

Always thought it would be cool if 4-5 million gun owners joined ACLU snd started pushing for them to work for our civil liberties. Same/Same with AARP and such.

Can't beat 'em, join 'em

We’re they not taught to turn the other cheek?

I thought that what 1234mag was speaking of?😀
Kenneth

The pope says NO!

They are pawns of Pimp Francis.

How does S&W market to disturbed people? They are nuts, not nuns!

If I own McDonald's stock...

Can I sue them for making me fat?

Yes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/21/nyregion/teenagers-suit-says-mcdonald-s-made-them-obese.html

https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=91427&page=1

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/health.healthandwellbeing

https://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/30/man-sued-mcdonalds-for-making-him-fat-and-won/

The list is very long.

That is my point SheSteve...

In America... anybody can sue anybody.

Would you prefer it some other way?

Other than a vow of celibacy aren't nuns supposed to take a vow of poverty? A nun with a 401K???

I actually find that S&W does a good job of promoting about everything except their AR's. Not that selling AR's is making them a pile of money because there are about 395 (more or less) different companies selling AR's.

Has anyone taken a Smith AR passed 1000 rounds to see how well they last ?? Does Smith actually use their own bolts and carriers or are they made by ToolCraft ? I suppose they have too much free time and needed to take a break from praying for the world 24/7.

Just wondering

kwg

Leftists come in all different sizes and configurations. They must be defeated. Let them pay for the frivolous lawsuit.