Reader Forum

Liability Of Gunsmiths I believe "Potential Liability Of The Professional Gunsmith" by Joseph Reichert, Esq. misses the point. Mr. Reichert spends much time discussing the property liability of a gunsmith involved in a shooting incident. This is outside the scope of our profession. As a concealed carry trainer licensed by the California Department of Justice, there is no doubt about the liability of the property owner in this matter, however, it has nothing to do with being a gunsmith.

Our advertisement of our profession indicates competence in the repair and testing of weapons. Let me discuss two type of liability for us. Ordinary Negligence: What I call "just stupid" or knowing that you know nothing about the weapon and have no resources to figure out how to assess its safety. Regardless, should you "repair" the weapon and give it back to the customer after charging for your work and it fails, you get sued. You are liable for this failure.

Intentional Negligence: What I call "knowingly stupid" and ignoring known facts. For example, a collectible 1911 was destroyed in afire. The client took the weapon to a "gunsmith" who pronounced it safe to shoot. Afterward, he brought it to me. I took the weapon apart and found the fire damage and that the gun was assembled with parts missing.

Since this was my first fire-damaged weapon, I read all the literature on fire damage and then checked with my master gunsmith at AGI, who concurred with my findings that the weapon was unsafe and I should advise the client to seal the barrel. I gave my client an opinion letter for his insurance. This "gunsmith" committed Ordinary Negligence telling his client that the gun was safe to shoot; he also failed to assemble the weapon with the correct parts.

The "gunsmith" may have also committed Intentional Negligence because he intentionally ignored the safety standards of the industry and by failing to ask for a second opinion or having supporting evidence by writing that the weapon was safe. Had the client not sealed the weapon and fired it, the gunsmith would have been liable for Ordinary and Intentional Negligence and all the damages from the natural consequences of the injury to the owner and all other persons.

As a retired attorney with 40 years of practice in civil and criminal law, I urge all my colleagues to seek advice from another master gunsmith when the safety of the weapon is in question. That is the scope of our profession and our liability. Overall, the article is good on the issue of general property liability, worker’s comp, and the more specific liability issue of the performance of a gunsmith is related to the issues I’ve addressed.

A shop owner would be faced with the same issues if he were just a home owner in the same situation. Steven J. Ybarra, JD ConsultantsAssociated.com Author Joseph Reichert responds. I respectfully submit that my article does not miss the point because a gunsmith who holds himself out to the public by maintaining a place of business and offering services shoulders a number of legal duties in addition to the duty to exercise sound professional knowledge in the repair and modification of firearms.

Among other things, he has a duty to maintain safe premises to protect his customers from injury. In all jurisdictions with which I’ve had contact, he is obliged to maintain worker’s compensation coverage for his employees. My point in writing the article was to apprise gunsmiths, who may have limited knowledge of the law, of some of the ways in which their business activities can expose them to potential liability.

In this array of perils, incompetence in the repair of firearms is only one type of error which can land them in court. In retrospect, I wish I had added the following statement to my article: "As a gunsmith taking in paid work, you are also a businessman and are subject to the liability and risks to which all businessmen are exposed.

This article is intended to assist your business planning by explaining some of those risks." Nothing I wrote was intended to diminish the role of gunsmithing competence and sound judgment in the repair of firearms. I agree wholeheartedly with your admonition to seek advice when the safety of a weapon is in question. AG