Smith and Wesson vs. Estados Unitos Mexicanos, handed down today. It’s as smashing a loss as a case can take. 9-0. Justice Kagan, of the liberal wing, writes the opinion. Justice Jackson, also of that wing, writes a concurrence that essentially says, Justice Kagan was too nice to you legal morons, get out of here:
“I view Mexico’s allegations as insufficient to satisfy PLCAA’s predicate exception, regardless of whether the business practices described might suffice to establish aiding-and-abetting or other forms of vicarious liability in distinct statutory or common-law contexts…. Devoid of nonconclusory allegations about particular statutory violations, Mexico’s lawsuit seeks to turn the courts into common-law regulators. But Congress passed PLCAA to preserve the primacy of the political branches–both state and federal–in deciding which duties to impose on the firearms industry.”
But, lest we think the other side might learn its lesson, the local newspapers are reporting they mean to press ahead with their lawsuits here.