City of Chicago v. Beretta U.S.A. Corporation

The city of Chicago and Cook County (collectively, the government) (plaintiffs) filed an action in Illinois state court against multiple gun manufacturers, distributors, and dealers (collectively, the gun companies) (defendants). The government claimed that the gun companies were liable to the public on a public-nuisance theory because they knew or should have known that the handguns manufactured and sold were illegally obtained and used for illegal purposes. The government argued that the gun dealers frequently sold to individuals who were forbidden to possess guns and to individuals who expressed the intent to use the guns for illegal purposes. The government argued that the gun manufacturers and distributors saturated the gun market in areas with less restrictive gun-control laws, with the recognition that individuals living in more restrictive gun-control areas would travel to other jurisdictions to purchase the guns. The government also argued that the manufacturers encouraged the illegal use of guns by designing guns that were easily concealed and capable of rapid firing. In the complaint, the government claimed that these practices, although not illegal, amounted to unreasonable conduct violating the public’s right to be free from gun violence and that such practices were the proximate cause of the public experiencing physical and emotional injuries due to gun violence. To support the proximate-cause theory, the government introduced into evidence multiple statistics and reports, including data from the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms that indicated the gun companies involved in the suit manufactured or sold a large proportion of the guns that had been obtained by police following illegal use and crimes. The government sought a permanent injunction to prevent the gun companies from engaging in the practices on the ground that such practices constituted a public nuisance. The trial court dismissed the case for failure to state a claim. The matter was appealed. The court of appeals affirmed. The matter was appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.