Pawn Shop Settles $2.2 Million Lawsuit After Selling Murder Weapon

By Bob Owens

Janet Delana called Odessa Gun & Pawn Shop and warned them that her daughter, Colby Sue Weathers, was violent, mentally unbalanced, and on the way to their shop to buy a gun. She implored the shop not to sell Weathers a gun. They did anyway, and Weathers used it to murder her father and make Mrs. Delana a widow.

Mrs. Delana sued Odessa Gun & Pawn in a wrongful death lawsuit, only to have it dismissed. The state Supreme Court reinstated the case on the grounds of negligent entrustment, and the gun shop has now settled the case out of court.

An Odessa, Mo., gun dealer on Tuesday agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit that arose when the dealer sold a gun to a mentally ill woman who then used it to kill her father.

Attorneys for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which helped the widow with her lawsuit, praised the development and said it sets an important precedent.

“I think this case sends a resounding message to gun dealers across the country that if they put profits over people, we will make them pay with consequences,” said attorney Jonathan Lowy. “We’re taking the profit out …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms