PHILADELPHIA, PA — A new round of lawsuits has been filed against Sig Sauer over alleged unintended discharges involving its P320 pistol, marking the largest mass action to date in the long-running dispute over the firearm’s safety.
Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky filed the latest cases last week in both federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and in Philadelphia County Court on behalf of 34 P320 owners from 23 states. The firm said the plaintiffs suffered injuries when their pistols fired without the trigger being pulled, and they are joining earlier claimants in urging Sig Sauer to recall and redesign the weapon.
The new filings come months after four prior mass actions were brought in New Hampshire — where 76 plaintiffs are awaiting trial — before Sig Sauer successfully lobbied state lawmakers to enact legislation limiting additional lawsuits over similar claims. With those restrictions in place, the firm shifted its strategy to Pennsylvania, where a previous P320 plaintiff won substantial damages from a jury.
Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky now represents more than 125 plaintiffs with active cases against the manufacturer, along with additional individuals still undergoing pre-suit investigation. The firm said its P320 clients now span 45 states, a sign of what it describes as the pistol’s nationwide risk.
“Sig Sauer is aware of hundreds of unintended discharges, and our firm is uncovering more and more each month,” said attorney Robert W. Zimmerman, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “We have urged Sig Sauer to recall this weapon before more police officers and law-abiding citizens are injured and killed. These incidents are starkly similar, are highly foreseeable and are, most importantly, preventable.”
The new complaints, totaling more than 200 pages, outline nearly a decade of safety concerns surrounding the P320, including sworn testimony from Sig Sauer employees regarding design decisions and marketing claims about the pistol’s performance. They also emphasize that every plaintiff was highly trained in firearm safety and had no intention of firing the weapon when it discharged.
All plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages, which will ultimately be determined by juries at trial.
States represented in the newly combined cases were not disclosed in the press materials but span nearly half the country, reflecting the broad geographic distribution of the claims.
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