Case seeks to hold manufacturers responsible for coordinating weapons trafficking to drug cartels across the US-Mexico border

A US appeals court on Monday revived a $10bn lawsuit by Mexico seeking to hold American gun manufacturers responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels across the US-Mexico border.

The Boston-based 1st US circuit court of appeals overturned a lower-court judge’s decision dismissing the case on the grounds that a US law barred Mexico from suing Smith & Wesson Brands, Sturm, Ruger & Co and others.

That law, the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), provides the firearms industry broad protection from lawsuits over their products’ misuse.

Mexico’s lawyers argued the law only bars lawsuits over injuries that occur in the US and does not shield the seven manufacturers and one distributor it sued from liability over the trafficking of guns to Mexican criminals.