Court Finds Ruger Not Liable for "Straw Purchase" Sale of Pistol by Retailer
October 01, 2004
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR), the nation's largest firearms manufacturer, announced that on September 30, 2004, Judge Irene Berger granted summary judgment to Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. in a case which sought to hold it liable for the resale of a pistol by a retail firearms dealer to a purchaser who delivered the pistol to an unauthorized user (David Lemongello, et al. v. Will's Company, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 02-C-2952, Circuit Court Kanawha County, West Virginia).

The firearm involved in this case was originally sold by Sturm, Ruger to a federally licensed independent wholesale distributor, as is the Company's normal business practice. It was then resold by the distributor to a federally licensed retail firearms dealer, who sold it lawfully to an authorized West Virginia resident. After a series of subsequent transactions involving the pistol, it was used by a criminal in New Jersey to injure the plaintiffs.

The court found that Sturm, Ruger had breached no legal duty to any of the plaintiffs, and further held that nothing Ruger did or failed to do in its sales policy was either a direct or an indirect cause of plaintiff's injuries.

About Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.
Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. is one of the nation's leading manufacturers of rugged, reliable firearms for the commercial sporting market. The only full-line manufacturer of American-made firearms, Ruger offers consumers over 400 variations of more than 30 product lines. For more than 60 years, Ruger has been a model of corporate and community responsibility. Our motto, "Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens," echoes the importance of these principles as we work hard to deliver quality and innovative firearms.

The Company may, from time to time, make forward-looking statements and projections concerning future expectations. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to certain qualifying risks and uncertainties, such as market demand, sales levels of firearms, anticipated castings sales and earnings, the need for external financing for operations or capital expenditures, the results of pending litigation against the Company, the impact of future firearms control and environmental legislation, and accounting estimates, any one or more of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date such forward-looking statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of subsequent unanticipated events.

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. “Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens”®