New Hampshire’s new law protecting gunmakers faces first test in court over Sig Sauer lawsuit

CONCORD N H AP A new state law in New Hampshire that makes it harder to take gunmaker Sig Sauer to court is getting its first test before a judge on Monday The -month-old law was created by the Republican-led Legislature in response to mounting lawsuits faced by the Newington-based manufacturer over its popular P pistol The lawsuits say that the gun can go off without the trigger being pulled an allegation Sig Sauer denies Sig Sauer which employs over people in New Hampshire stated the gun is safe and the complication is user error Several large multi-plaintiff cases filed since in New Hampshire s federal court representing nearly people accuse Sig Sauer of defective product design marketing and negligence in addition to lawsuits filed in other states A multitude of of the plaintiffs are current and former law enforcement officers who say they were wounded by the gun They say the P design requires an external mechanical safety a feature that is optional The the bulk fresh New Hampshire episode representing plaintiffs in states was filed in March It s the focus of Monday s hearing The new law on product liability suggests against Sig Sauer and other gun manufacturers covers the absence or presence of the external safety and several other optional features States can still be filed over manufacturing defects Attorneys for Sig Sauer argue it should apply to the March episode even though the law didn t exist at the time New Hampshire has a clearly articulated position against such declares being cognizable in this state they argue in court documents for developing up the cases and transferring them to court districts where the plaintiffs live Lawyers from a Philadelphia-based firm representing the plaintiffs disagree saying the law has zero implication on the situation and only applies to future lawsuits New Hampshire was the chosen location because federal rules allow lawsuits against a company in its home state the plaintiff s attorneys say Those lawsuits have been assigned to one federal judge in Concord Sig Sauer is trying to decentralize the circumstance they say Sig Sauer has prevailed in particular cases It has appealed two fresh multimillion-dollar verdicts against it in Pennsylvania and Georgia A judge in recent months allowed the Pennsylvania verdict to stand but vacated million in punitive damages awarded to the plaintiff