Century Arms May Face Punitive Damages in Drop-Fire Injury Suit

A pistol owner who says he was injured by an unintentional discharge may pursue punitive damages against importer Century Arms Inc. and a related distributor because he adequately alleged they knew about the claimed “drop-fire” defect before his accident, a federal court in Tennessee ruled.

A Century Arms safety notice cited in Louis Edward Hill’s complaint, warning that “repeated abusive dropping of pistols may result in damage to safety features and unintentional discharge,” related closely enough to the alleged defect for the claim to proceed, Judge Thomas A. Varlan said Tuesday for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ...