$239M Final Settlement Approved in Taurus Class Pistol Case

MIAMI, July 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal judge in Miami gave final approval to a settlement negotiated in the class action lawsuit brought against Taurus International that alleged faulty design in a number of pistols that make them likely to discharge when dropped, even with the manual safety engaged, and allow them to be fired with the safety in the on position. A settlement website (https://www.tauruscartersettlement.com) is available for owners of Taurus pistols with safety defects alleged in a class-action lawsuit.

Bailey & Glasser attorneys David Selby, of the firm's Birmingham, Alabama, office, and John Barrett, of its Charleston, West Virginia, office, along with co-counsel Todd Wheeles with Morris, Haynes, Wheeles, Knowles & Nelson, represented Chris Carter of Scott County, Iowa, as the named plaintiff on behalf of others who purchased these defective handguns. U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz granted final approval on July 22, 2016.

In her order, Judge Seitz overruled all objections to the settlement's fairness, reasonableness and adequacy, as well as to the mechanism to notify class members of the settlement. In addition, she approved attorneys' fees of $9 million, payable by the defendant over three years and a $15,000 service award to be paid to Carter.

The total value of the settlement to class members is $239 million. The settlement allows owners to obtain an enhanced, lifetime warranty on the covered pistols. Under the enhanced warranty, owners can submit a warranty claim at any time. Taurus will pay to ship a covered pistol to its Miami facility, where it will be repaired or replaced. Pistols that cannot be repaired will be replaced with similar new pistols. At this time, there is no repair for the safety defects and all pistols submitted to Taurus will be replaced with a new Taurus G2 pistol. The G2 model includes a safety mechanism which is designed to prevent an unintended discharge.

Finally, the settlement allows owners to exchange their pistols for a cash payment, the value of which would depend on how many owners return their pistols. The website allows owners to fill out a contact form to ensure they will be sent information about how to submit a claim form when the settlement is given final approval. Owners wishing to claim the cash benefit option will have a limited time period in which to make a claim. This will be clearly set out on the settlement website once the claim period begins.

Taurus pistols subject to the defects include the Millennium, Millennium Pro, Millennium Pro Compact, Millennium Pro Sub-Compact, 24/7, and others.

Owners of these pistols should check the settlement website to determine how to file a claim: https://www.tauruscartersettlement.com.

Founded by Ben Bailey and Brian Glasser in 1999 in Charleston, West Virginia, Bailey & Glasser LLP has grown to include 52 lawyers, with offices in nine states and the District of Columbia. The firm's complex litigation practice focuses on high-stakes commercial litigation; class actions for consumers, insureds, investors, and retirement plan participants; catastrophic injury and defective product cases; antitrust; and whistleblower lawsuits.  The firm has extensive experience in energy law, and litigates energy cases in trial courts, bankruptcy courts, regulatory agencies, and appellate courts. It has a major corporate practice, and handles business matters ranging from assisting Chinese investors in acquiring US assets, to IPOs, to the negotiation and execution of billions of dollars in commercial transactions.

Contact: David Selby
(205) 988-9253
[email protected] 

SOURCE Bailey & Glasser, LLP

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