Taser absolved of stun gun death liability

Shares up after Arizona ruling

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 15th August 2005 11:29 GMT

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An Arizona court last week delivered some good news for Taser International Inc. shareholders when it dismissed a wrongful death and product liability lawsuit against the stun gun manufacturer.

The decision - the third such wrongful death suit against Taser dismissed in a month - immediately sent the company's shares up nine per cent in pre-market trading, Reuters reports. Indeed, Taser shares were last Friday trading at $9.20 on the Inet electronic brokerage system, up from a Thursday closing value of $8.44 on Nasdaq.

Friday's ruling in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona in the County of Maricopa "ordered a suit against Taser to be dismissed with prejudice". This means the plaintiff will not be able to refile the suit which charged Taser with "wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress and product liability".

Although Taser has faced several similar lawsuits filed by relatives of victims of fatal Taser deployment, none has succeeded. Amnesty International has reportedly recorded 100 taser-related fatalities since 2001. For its part, Taser says the 50,000 volt perp-buster is a "non-lethal" alternative to hot lead. ®

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