Smith & Wesson Board Hit With Investor Suit Over AR-15 Marketing

The board of directors for gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. was sued by shareholders Tuesday who accused them of exposing the company to significant liability through its manufacturing and sale of AR-15 style rifles used in mass shootings.

The shareholders, a group of activist Catholic nuns, accuse the company’s board and senior management team of continuing to “willfully ignore the winds of change and the exponential increase in the number of mass murders” Smith & Wesson has facilitated through its marketing practices.

The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Nevada, comes after the ...