Smith & Wesson Class Action Filed By Toronto Shooting Victims

Victims of a 2018 shooting in Toronto recently filed a class action against Smith & Wesson, alleging that the gun maker negligently sold firearms which were used in the incident.

The shooting occurred on July 22, 2018 on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighborhood. The Danforth shooting, as it is known locally, reportedly killed two people and injured 13 others.

The perpetrator Faisal Hussain allegedly used a Smith & Wesson M&P40 semi-automatic pistol. Victims of the shooting claim that Smith & Wesson negligently failed to incorporate their “smart gun” technology into the pistol used by the shooter which contributed to the tragic event.

Smith & Wesson reportedly introduced their smart gun technology into new weapons starting in 2003. The technology should prevent stolen guns from being fired by unauthorized users by requiring identification such as a finger or palm print or by utilizing locking devices.

Although the company agreed to start incorporating the technology into their new weapons in 2003, plaintiffs claim in their Smith & Wesson class action that the company did not include any smart gun features in their 40 series. This allegedly included that M&P40 semi-automatic pistol used by Hussain.

This reportedly allowed Hussain to steal the pistol and turn it on restaurant patrons and pedestrians in the 2018 shooting.

“[The] defendant knew the handgun was an ultra-hazardous product that posed a substantial likelihood of harm to the public,” the plaintiffs argue in their Smith & Wesson class action lawsuit.

“In the circumstances, [the] defendant owed a duty to the Class to ensure that any handguns it made available to the Canadian market were designed and manufactured to implement technology that would prevent unauthorised users from causing the very type of harm and injury suffered by the Class members.”

Although U.S. laws protect gun makers from liability in civil lawsuits stemming from their products, there are no similar laws in Canada. This allows victims of the shooting to file their Smith & Wesson class action in a bid to hold the company accountable for the people injured and lives lost.

Samantha Price and Skye McLeod are two students who were reportedly 18-years-old at the time of the shooting and were injured. They are serving as plaintiffs in the Smith & Wesson class action along with their parents.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of people who were shot and injured or killed in the 2018 Danforth shooting. They also seek to represent a second Class of people who were injured in other ways as a result of the shooting and a third Class of family members.

Were you a victim of the Toronto shooting? Let us know in the comment section below.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Malcom N. Ruby and Adam Bazak of Gowling WLG Canada LLP and by Michel W. Drapeau and Joshua Juneau of Michel Drapeu Law Office.

The Smith & Wesson Class Action Lawsuit is Price, et al. v. Smith & Wesson Corp., Case No. 19-0063291500-CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada.

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