As the country reels from Saturday’s massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, it’s one of those times when the industry is certain to be excoriated for saying anything- or nothing.
Despite that risk, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has issued a statement on the horrific incident. And it’s worth sharing with our readers.
Here it is, without comment:
“We are truly saddened and our hearts go out to the victims and their families, all the congregants of the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the brave and dedicated law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who responded to the scene of this heinous and unspeakably cruel hate crime.
On behalf of the members of our industry, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has long advocated for effective solutions to prevent unauthorized access to firearms by criminals, the dangerously mentally ill, children and others who cannot be trusted to handle firearms in a safe and responsible manner.
The firearms industry welcome participation in the national conversation to make our communities and our schools safer. We will continue to lead and participate in finding and enhancing practical solutions that protect lives and preserve the rights of law-abiding Americans.”
There really isn’t much more any of us can add to their statement. We are all saddened by senseless violence. Anyone who sees this as anything other than a malevolent act of hate is looking through some very unwell eyes- and should be seeking serious mental help.
At the same time, the NSSF is putting out notice that fed-up business owners and individuals are preparing a class action lawsuit against Google. More specifically, there’s a class action being prepared in San Jose, California on behalf of persons or companies that “had its AdWords/AdSense account suspended or terminated by Google LLC between March 2014 and September 2017 based on the fact their websites advertised ‘any products that (i) were designed to injure an opponent in sport, self-defense or combat such as knives, crossbows and guns or (ii) which comprised any part or component necessary to the function of a gun or (iii) were intended for attachment to a gun’ in violation of Google’s dangerous products or services policy.”
According to our info, you don’t have to be a FFL to become a plaintiff, or live in the state of California. Your business can be located anywhere in the country.
As is the case with most class actions, there are no fees or costs associated with joining the “class” - because the plaintiff counsel will be paid by court order on a contingent basis.
The attorney in the matter (or putative class action counsel) is William McGrane, Esq. - and you can learn more about the class action and Mr. McGrane at www.mcgranepc.com.
Class action lawsuits are lawsuits in which a group of people “with the same or similar injuries caused by the same product or action sue the defendant as a group.” They’re also called “mass tort litigation” or “multi-district litigation” (MDL). A key is that people seek justice in class action lawsuits because they’ve been damaged (as opposed to being injured- a variation on the same idea) has been caused by consumer fraud, corporate misconduct, securities fraud and employment practices.
A class action is frequently used when a number of people have suffered the same or similar injury. Individually, they may have been relatively minor, to the point they might not have sought “legal redress”. Collectively, however, the value of the claims add up. Suing as a class means consolidating attorneys, defendants, evidence, witnesses and most other aspects of the litigation.
There are many examples of class action lawsuits -and the amounts awarded in them can add up to some staggering numbers. Recently, I discovered a long-expired check from Apple. It was my portion of the settlement over Apple’s e-books. Hagens Berman, the consumer rights law firm that settled that suit (for $450 million) is now initiating a similar suit over Apple’s admitted “throttling” of speeds on older iPhones. Again, I’m probably qualified as a defendant in that class action as well (apparently that’s the hazard of having owned and used Apple products since 1983). If they settle this one, I would suspect my settlement check would be even smaller- although I don’t know if companies actually write checks for less than $3.87.
As always, we’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd