In Re Firearm Cases

A number of California cities and counties filed an action on behalf of the general public against manufacturers, distributors and retailers of handguns and their trade associations, asserting that their conduct of distributing firearms in a manner that enables criminals to acquire the firearms constituted a public nuisance and a pattern of unlawful, unfair and deceptive business acts and practices in violation of the unfair competition law (UCL), Business and Professions Code sections 17200 and 17500. On March 7, 2003, the superior court considered several separate dispositive motions. It granted judgment on the omnibus motion for summary judgment brought by various gun manufacturers, distributors and trade associations. Plaintiffs appealed. We affirm because of plaintiffs’ failure to establish a causal connection between the alleged unfair practices and the harm, as we explain below.

BACKGROUND

In 1999, the city attorneys of several jurisdictions, including the Cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, and the Counties of San Mateo and Alameda, filed an unfair business practices and nuisance action on behalf of the general public in San Francisco Superior Court…