Merrill

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Frederick Brown, Carl W. Chamberlin, Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Dennis A. Henigan, Brian J. Siebel, Wash., D.C., Morrison & Foerster, James B. Bennett, Cam Baker, San Francisco, Cotchett & Pitre, Frank M. Pitre, Mark Molumphy, Burlingame, McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, Jane Lovell, San Francisco, Vaca, Vaca & Ritter, Christopher G. Ritter, San Francisco, Law Offices of Mitchell J. Green, Mitchell J. Green, Jaffe, Trutanich, Scatena & Blum, San Francisco, Fred M. Blum, Alper & McCulloch, Dean A. Alper, San Francisco, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.

Latham & Watkins, Ernest J. Getto, Los Angeles, for Defendants and Appellees.

KLINE, J.

On July 1, 1993, Gian Luigi Ferri (Ferri) entered 101 California Street, a high-rise office building in San Francisco, armed with two semiautomatic assault weapons manufactured and distributed by respondent Navegar, Inc. (Navegar), 250 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition, as well as a third weapon, a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. Proceeding to the 34th floor premises of a law firm against which he held a grudge, Ferri cold-bloodedly opened fire on persons in the offices and hallways of this and two…