Merrill v. Navegar, Inc.

Opinion

CHIN, J.

On July 1, 1993, Gian Luigi Ferri killed eight people and wounded six—and then killed himself—during a shooting rampage at 101 California Street, a high-rise office building in San Francisco. Survivors and representatives of some of Ferri’s victims (plaintiffs) sued defendant Nave-gar, Inc. (Navegar), which made two of the three weapons Ferri used.

We granted review to determine whether plaintiffs may hold Navegar liable on a common law negligence theory. We hold they may not, because the Legislature has declared as a matter of public policy that a gun manufacturer may not be…