July 4 parade gun suits belong in state court, panel holds

A federal appeals court rejected a bid by Smith & Wesson to remove from state to federal court a dozen lawsuits accusing the gun manufacturer of liability in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois that there was no basis under federal law for Smith & Wesson to move the suits from Lake County Circuit Court to U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Read more of Patricia Manson's reporting on the ruling in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.