Tom Aveni
06-02-2005, 10:28 AM
Court Rejects Widow's Appeal Against Gun Distributor in Teacher Slaying
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By PETER FRANCESCHINA
sun-sentinel.com
June 1, 2005, 11:30 AM EDT
WEST PALM BEACH -- The widow of a Lake Worth middle school teacher who was shot to death by student Nathaniel Brazill lost an appeals court fight on Wednesday that was an effort to hold a gun distributor liable for distributing a defective product.
Attorneys for Pam Grunow, the widow of murdered Lake Worth Middle School teacher Barry Grunow, argued that the murder weapon was nothing but a cheap, poorly manufactured handgun designed solely to be used for crime.
Her attorneys asked the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach to reinstate a jury's decision that the gun's distributor, Sunrise-based Valor Corp., should pay Grunow and her two children $1.2 million in damages.
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga threw out the November 2002 verdict, ruling that Valor could not be negligent under state law because jurors did not find the gun was a defective product. The appeals court ruled that there was no liability on the part of Valor for distributing a gun that worked as it should.
Grunow's attorneys argued at trial and before the appeals court that the Raven
.25-caliber semiautomatic used by Brazill was a "crime gun."
Valor's attorneys argued that the Raven is a legitimate weapon, often used for self-defense and by police officers as a backup gun and not any different than more-expensive handguns.
Valor's attorneys also argued that Brazill was the person responsible for Barry Grunow's death. Then a 13-year-old student, Brazill stole the gun from his grandfather and used it to shoot Grunow after being sent home from school in May 2000. Brazill was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
"We certainly sympathize with [Pam] Grunow and recognize the tragedy of the events that transpried," the three-judge appeals panel wrote in their decision. "However, it was Brazill, his grandfather and perhaps the school that were liable, not Valor."
After the jury verdict in favor of Pam Grunow, several jurors said it was a compromise. They found the family friend and the Palm Beach County School Board responsible for 95 percent of the damages because the gun was not locked up and there wasn't better security at the school. Valor was found responsible for 5 percent of the total damages of $24 million, or $1.2 million. The family friend and School Board were not defendants
in the case because Pam Grunow reached settlements with them.
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By PETER FRANCESCHINA
sun-sentinel.com
June 1, 2005, 11:30 AM EDT
WEST PALM BEACH -- The widow of a Lake Worth middle school teacher who was shot to death by student Nathaniel Brazill lost an appeals court fight on Wednesday that was an effort to hold a gun distributor liable for distributing a defective product.
Attorneys for Pam Grunow, the widow of murdered Lake Worth Middle School teacher Barry Grunow, argued that the murder weapon was nothing but a cheap, poorly manufactured handgun designed solely to be used for crime.
Her attorneys asked the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach to reinstate a jury's decision that the gun's distributor, Sunrise-based Valor Corp., should pay Grunow and her two children $1.2 million in damages.
Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga threw out the November 2002 verdict, ruling that Valor could not be negligent under state law because jurors did not find the gun was a defective product. The appeals court ruled that there was no liability on the part of Valor for distributing a gun that worked as it should.
Grunow's attorneys argued at trial and before the appeals court that the Raven
.25-caliber semiautomatic used by Brazill was a "crime gun."
Valor's attorneys argued that the Raven is a legitimate weapon, often used for self-defense and by police officers as a backup gun and not any different than more-expensive handguns.
Valor's attorneys also argued that Brazill was the person responsible for Barry Grunow's death. Then a 13-year-old student, Brazill stole the gun from his grandfather and used it to shoot Grunow after being sent home from school in May 2000. Brazill was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
"We certainly sympathize with [Pam] Grunow and recognize the tragedy of the events that transpried," the three-judge appeals panel wrote in their decision. "However, it was Brazill, his grandfather and perhaps the school that were liable, not Valor."
After the jury verdict in favor of Pam Grunow, several jurors said it was a compromise. They found the family friend and the Palm Beach County School Board responsible for 95 percent of the damages because the gun was not locked up and there wasn't better security at the school. Valor was found responsible for 5 percent of the total damages of $24 million, or $1.2 million. The family friend and School Board were not defendants
in the case because Pam Grunow reached settlements with them.