re: #202 William Lewis

Realy? What gun company?

Bryco Arms.

But their new profile ignores a significant chapter in their professional histories: The couple, who for decades ran a personal injury law practice in Missouri, litigated numerous cases against prominent gun manufacturers and contributed to the downfall of what was once America’s largest handgun maker. In fact, the handgun Patricia McCloskey brandished on June 28 appears to have been an exhibit used in one of those cases.

In several cases in state and federal courts, Mark McCloskey represented plaintiffs who had been injured by handguns manufactured by Bryco Arms, a gunmaker that became notorious in the late 1990s and early 2000s for producing low-quality pistols derided as “junk guns” by gun-rights and gun-control activists alike. Bryco’s products had a reputation for being used in crimes — and having design defects that lead to unintentional discharges.

One case, Chronister v. Bryco, ended in a judgment of more than $350,000 in 2001 after Mark McCloskey successfully argued that the company was liable for a defective design that caused one of its handguns to misfire in a man’s hand with the chamber open. The explosion left the plaintiff in the case with shrapnel in his face, hearing loss, tinnitus and temporary blindness.

The McCloskeys’ website says they handled at least two other product liability cases against gun manufacturers, including one that resulted in a judgment of more than $400,000 and another misfiring-gun death case, which resulted in a confidential settlement.

In 2003, Bryco Arms declared bankruptcy and was sold for $510,000 after another lawsuit, not handled by McCloskey, forced the company to pay $24 million in damages, as The Trace has reported. After the bankruptcy, the company was revived as Jimenez Arms.

thetrace.org