DiMaiti family files appeal.

BOSTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1996--Lawyers for the family of Carol DiMaiti Stuart announced today that they have filed an appeal in response to Judge Nonnie Burnes' dismissal of the family's wrongful death suit against Edward F. Kakas & Sons Inc., without a trial. The appeal follows the Superior Court's dismissal decision delivered this past Friday.

Carl DiMaiti, the elder and only brother of the late Carol DiMaiti Stuart, said, "My parents and I remain committed to making sure that people who keep guns do so responsibly so that these types of tragedies do not happen in the future. This is not just a fight for Carol, but for the tens of thousands of other families who, every year, lose a loved one to handgun violence or handgun irresponsibility."

In the DiMaiti's lawsuit, which began in October of 1992, the family argued that store owners should be held strictly liable when an unsecured, unmonitored and unlicensed loaded handgun is stolen and used in a violent crime. FBI records indicate that as many as 275,000 weapons are stolen each year from gun owners nationally. Many of these stolen weapons are used in subsequent violent crimes.

"The dismissal effectively means that if you carelessly keep a gun that is stolen and used in a violent crime, you have no responsibility to anyone. My family and I intend to continue this litigation, and we are hopeful that the Supreme Judicial Court will require people to take responsibility for their guns," DiMaiti added.

Reacting to the judge's decision, John A. Wortmann Jr., an attorney with Brown, Rudnick, Freed & Gesmer, the firm that represents the DiMaiti family, said, "We all knew from the outset that this case raises vital legal questions regarding gun responsibility, an issue that ultimately needs to be carefully addressed and decided by an appellate court. We believe that this case will present Massachusetts with the opportunity to break new ground on gun control and responsibility issues and we look forward to the appeal."

The lawsuit is the first of its kind in the United States, and the court's decision comes on the heels of public efforts to combat handgun violence. Recently, Attorney General L. Scott Harshbarger proposed regulations that would effectively ban certain types of handguns.

"My sister would have been proud of her family to be involved in the fight to stop the blight of handgun violence and irresponsibility. We hope the appellate court provides her memory with that opportunity," DiMaiti said.

CONTACT: John A. Wortmann Jr. [phone]

Michael Paris [phone]