Walmart Foils Terrorists!

[seamusTX]

The laws need to be fixed so that you can't hold every tom-dick-and-harry responsible for your own silly actions.

They were. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act was passed in 2005. It's now difficult to impossible to sue a manufacturer or vendor for use of a firearm.

- Jim

[Mithras61]

I can't say i blame them on those decisions. The laws need to be fixed so that you can't hold every tom-dick-and-harry responsible for your own silly actions.

In this case, we aren't even talking about your own actions, but the actions of another person. In your example, Walmart made a legitimate sale of a shotgun & ammo to someone. They didn't do anything illegal, immoral or even questionable (unless the guy told the clerk "I'm buying this so I can go blow my own head off" in which case, therre MAY be a case).

The family isn't suing Walmart for any reason other than refusal to accept his actions as his own (their denial may be related to WHY he shot himself, BTW) and because Walmart has very deep pockets and a willingness to settle instead of fighting it out. As has been discussed elsewhere, it's expensive to defend yourself in a civil action and it would probably cost more than settling does. Of course, the problem is that this encourages MORE bad lawsuits instead of stopping the whole thing in its tracks.

The only way I can think of (that makes even a little sense to me) to prevent this sort of abuse is to make it so that the looser in the case automatically pays all attorneys fees and court costs for both sides. That way, your costs are covered if you prevail, and you have an incentive to fight it out (if you have a good case, you may even find that you have access to better representation this way), and you have a built in incentive to not file frivolous suits.

The only other things I can think of to reduce this sort of abuse either limits access to the system even when the complaint is legitimate (like requiring that complainants demonstrate liability on the part of defendants before allowing suit to be filed - and then who decides this?), or tends towards a socialist solution (make all lawyers certified to practice in this type of case work only for the state - socialized legal representation?), or is even more unsavory than either of these solutions (prohibit lawsuits against businesses for the actions of third parties, maybe - what about if the business really IS negligent? Prohibit civil actions in the absence of a criminal action? I don't like that much either...). Maybe one of the brilliant legal minds here can make some better suggestions.

The real solution to this is a social solution, not a legal one. When people stop looking for a way to profit off of their own actions (or the actions of their family members) and/or misfortunes (accidents really DO happen! It isn't all negligence on SOMEONE's part), the case load will go down. Social pressure can help bring this about.

[anygunanywhere]

Maybe they need to pull knives, rat poison, pool chemicals, knitting needles, beer, wine, tater chips, cheese, eggs, shortening, lard, salt, sugar coated ceral, sugary soft drinks, rope, spray paint, circular saws, drills and bits, hammers, ad-infitum. Makes as much sense as guns and ammo.

Just sell cotton balls and toilet paper.

*sigh*

Anygun

[yobdab]

Maybe Walmart should sue the family, Walmrt could claim the families negligence in noticing something was bothering the poor man and their lack of finding him help caused a loss of business due to the man's suicide on Walmart property.

I would say the family is way more responsible for his actions then Walmart.

[mr surveyor]

Maybe they need to pull knives, rat poison, pool chemicals, knitting needles, beer, wine, tater chips, cheese, eggs, shortening, lard, salt, sugar coated ceral, sugary soft drinks, rope, spray paint, circular saws, drills and bits, hammers, ad-infitum. Makes as much sense as guns and ammo.

Just sell cotton balls and toilet paper.

*sigh*

Anygun

CAUTION: CHOKING HAZARD - KEEP AWAY FROM SMALL CHILDREN

[Liberty]

Maybe they need to pull knives, rat poison, pool chemicals, knitting needles, beer, wine, tater chips, cheese, eggs, shortening, lard, salt, sugar coated ceral, sugary soft drinks, rope, spray paint, circular saws, drills and bits, hammers, ad-infitum. Makes as much sense as guns and ammo.

Just sell cotton balls and toilet paper.

*sigh*

Anygun

CAUTION: CHOKING HAZARD - KEEP AWAY FROM SMALL CHILDREN

Toilet paper tube reinforced with fiberglass tape makes a nice mortar barrel. Cotton balls good wadding for mortar.

[Crash]

The only time you get any quick, knowledgeable service at the Gun Dept of Wal-Mart here in Fredericksburg is when one of the two ladies is working there. None of the men seem to know which end of the gun the projectile comes out of.....

Crash

[Commander]

They had one guy go into a store, buy a shotgun and ammo and go into the parking lot and blow his own head off. She said on that one the family sued everyone from the greeter at the door to the checkout person to the managers on duty.

They have pulled the guns out of her store entirely and she said they are slowly doing it with all the stores. She said the ammo is next on the list.

Hmmmm....What if that same guy had gone in and bought a couple of gallons of "camp fuel" and a box of matches; then gone to the parking lot and set himself on fire? Would they start pulling camp fuel and matches from their stores? Would the family have sued?....To answer my own question, I doubt it. They only sued because it was a gun and guns are politically incorrect.