New Hampshire gunmaker SIG Sauer is facing another proposed class action lawsuit over claims its popular P320 pistol can inadvertently fire without a trigger pull.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Concord, Derek Ortiz, an Arizona gun owner, alleges that SIG Sauer’s model P320 pistol contains a design flaw that allows it to discharge when dropped, and that the Newington-based company continued to sell the flawed gun to the public after discovering its potential for malfunction.
The suit, which alleges the company violated the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act, is similar to a proposed class action claim in Texas, and a third case in Missouri.
According to court paperwork, Ortiz says he paid approximately $500 for a P320 in September 2016. He selected the weapon, in part, because it was advertised by SIG Sauer as “drop safe.”
However, multiple people, including several law enforcement officers, have been injured when their P320 allegedly discharged without a trigger pull. Earlier this month, the transit police force in Philadelphia revoked the weapon from service after an officer’s P320 allegedly fired without a trigger pull inside of a busy subway station.
The company continues to maintain that the P320 is safe, but in August 2017 began offering a “voluntary upgrade” to retrofit the weapon with a new trigger and other components.
Attorneys for Ortiz, including Chuck Douglas of the Douglas, Leonard and Garvey law firm in Concord, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
