resources

City Cases

In the late 1990s, lawsuits spearheaded by Brady on behalf of over 30 major cities nationwide exposed the role of the gun industry in supplying the criminal gun market, won several landmark court decisions, and led to a groundbreaking settlement that showed how gun companies can become part of the solution to gun violence. In 2000 Smith & Wesson, one of the nation’s largest gun manufacturers, agreed to a settlement with the federal government and several cities represented by Brady. In the settlement, announced by President Clinton at the White House, Smith & Wesson agreed to significantly reform its sales and manufacturing practices in order to reduce the risk of supplying the criminal gun market, and to include life-saving safety features on its products.

Brady’s representation of over 30 cities and counties also won rulings in the Supreme Courts of Indiana and Ohio, and several trial courts, that held the gun industry could be liable for contributing to gun crimes by selling guns without reasonable safeguards.

The Cities and Counties represented by Brady included New York, Washington, DC, Boston, New Orleans, Miami-Dade County, FL, Detroit, Bridgeport, CT, St.Louis, MO, Newark, NJ, Gary, IN, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and West Hollywood.

Former President Bill Clinton called the agreement “a major victory for America’s families. It says that gun makers can and will share in the responsibility to keep their products out of the wrong hands. And it says that gun makers will make their guns safer.”


Back to Litigation
Related Legal Cases

Types of Gun Violence

Calling out Manufacturers Supplying Criminal Firearms in Gary

Indiana Supreme Court upholds City of Gary’s claims of unlawful marketing and negligent gun sales by various gun manufacturers for contributing to gun violence in Illinois.

City of Gary v. Smith & Wesson

Types of Gun Violence

Seeking Justice in Missouri For Eight-Year-Old Killed by Father

After a 10 year legal battle, the Kansas Supreme Court held that a mother could seek justice from gun dealer who sold a firearm to her husband, a convicted felon, to kill her eight-year-old son.

Shirley v. Glass

Types of Gun Violence

Gun Dealer Held Accountable for Arming Shooters in DC Sniper Case

Brady held a gun dealer accountable for supplying firearms to the shooters who killed 17 people and injured seven others in the DC sniper attacks.

Johnson v. Bull's Eye

Types of Gun Violence

Justice for Lifelong Chicagoan Killed with a Trafficked Gun

Brady holds gun dealers accountable for selling trafficked firearms to the criminal market which were later used to shoot and kill a native son of the South Side, war veteran, and Chicago Police Officer while on duty.

Wortham v. Ed's Pawn Shop

Types of Gun Violence

Gun Manufacturer Held Accountable in Death of Seven-Year-Old

Brady sued a gun manufacturer for not including crucial safety features that would have prevented the death of a seven-year old boy.

Jefferson v. Sauers

Types of Gun Violence

Online Gun Sellers Supply Firearms Used in Shooting Rampage

Brady filed suit in case where prohibited person with domestic violence restraining order went on a shooting rampage at his wife’s workplace with firearm obtained through ArmsList.

Daniel v. Armslist

Types of Gun Violence

Las Vegas: Uncovering the Truth About Bump Stocks

Lawsuit filed against Slide Fire Solutions, which invented bump stocks and claims its main purpose is to assist those with limited hand mobility, as its founder boasts of its mimicry of automatic gun fire.

Prescott et al v. Slide Fire Solutions

Types of Gun Violence

Amicus Brief Challenges the Charleston Loophole

Following the devastating Charleston church shooting Brady filed an amicus brief before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to close a loophole that allowed the shooting to obtain the firearm used in the shooting.

Sanders v. US

Types of Gun Violence

Pittsburgh Police Fight to Trace Crime Guns

Brady assists the city of Pittsburgh in protecting its ordinance to ensure crime guns can be adequately traced and that police can investigate firearms stolen from law-abiding gun owners.

Pittsburgh v. NRA

Types of Gun Violence

Boston v. Smith & Wesson

In the early 2000s, Boston experienced a significant increase in violence perpetrated with firearms. Boston, with the help of Brady, began litigation against the gun industry to address this gun violence problem.

Types of Gun Violence

Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Promotes Justice for Teen Killed by CBP

Brady filed an amicus brief to support the family of an unarmed fifteen-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a rogue CBP officer. The boy's parents are seeking to hold the officer who shot their son accountable and the Supreme Court will consider whether or not the courts can recognize their claim.

Hernandez v. Mesa