Court Lets Plaintiff’s Sig Sauer Design-Defect Suit Proceed Over Second Amendment Claim

A federal judge in Georgia denied Sig Sauer’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the P365X pistol fired without a trigger pull, rejecting the company’s Second Amendment defense at this stage.

In a Georgia federal court, Judge Thomas Thrash refused to toss a product-liability suit filed by a consumer who was injured when his Sig Sauer P365X pistol discharged without any trigger action while it was still seated in a holster at the Rock Bottom Hunting Club in Roberta. The plaintiff, who purchased the striker-fired pistol on November 18, 2023, claims the firearm’s internal design caused a spontaneous discharge that severely damaged his right index finger.

He asserts claims for design defect, failure to warn, and negligence, while Sig Sauer contends that such liability would amount to a de facto prohibition on handguns without a manual safety, violating the Second Amendment. The judge ruled that the case can proceed, emphasizing that the court must apply Georgia’s risk-utility test to determine whether a safer design was feasible, and that the constitutional question will be addressed later if necessary.

Attorneys Brendan Gerard Krasinski and Darl Champion of The Champion Firm represent the plaintiff. The ruling does not yet decide whether the manufacturer’s lack of an external safety constitutes a constitutional violation.