Gun Rental Liability

[LynnE]

I’ve been searching the forum and read several threads about gun rental liability but could not find anything specifically about the ownership of the guns. Here's the background:

I’m involved with an outfitting company and we want to expand into gun shooting packages. Basically we would have access to a gun club range, there would be people running the event with certifications (RSO, etc.). Participants would be able to shoot various guns. The guns and ammo would be provided by the company, however, the ownership of the guns and the liability is a question. The shooting would be strictly controlled (small groups, maybe 2 to 4 people, shooting one at a time, and the first mag would only have one round in it, etc.).

The gun club that owns the range has their own general liability insurance which covers all members and guests. The outfitting company has its own general liability insurance. I understand that a person with RSO certification can purchase their own liability insurance. The participants would sign a liability waiver, however, those usually don’t hold up in court. The question I have is if there were an accident, the injured party could skip right past the gun club and outfitting company and go after the actual owner of the gun in question. The guns would be owned by several of the people involved in the company (one person being the owner of the company, and two others who are employees of the company). So my question is how do we protect everyone even with all the above-stated insurance coverage? Is it possible in PA for a company to own the guns and thereby assume all liability? Would the company have to become an FFL in order to own the guns?

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

In the past I have turned to LLoyds of London for answers to a lot of specifics that you have asked,all your questions are not applicable to others and need the expertise of a company that will tailor the policy to your needs.Hope this helps,somewhat.

[GunLawyer001]

I don't know of any iron-clad way to transfer a Title I firearm to a legal entity, not in Pennsylvania under state law. Every transfer is going to be to the flesh and blood natural person standing there, and because we don't have formal "registration", any injured party can always come back at the last human transferee.

For Title II firearms like machineguns, it's easier to vest legal title in a corporation or LLC. There'd still be legal liability for the person who handed a gun to an obviously unqualified user (because that's a separate basis of liability), but you eliminate most of the owner liability (or at least confine it to the assets of the company).

For the non-NFA guns, you can certainly muddy the water by doing formal transfer paperwork from the human to the company, but I doubt it would hold up.

As for the waivers, the problems you face include the fact that 3rd parties are often the injured people, and they didn't sign any waiver. You can get a waiver/indemnification/hold harmless from the user, but that's really only as good as the depth of his pockets.

One nice thing about insurance is that your carrier can offer the policy limits, and that often is enough to settle the case. Getting that check is a lot less work and much more rewarding than trying to execute against a mortgaged house and a used car and whatever you have in the bank. Of course, "going naked" and having no insurance at all is also sometimes a legitimate strategy for the right person, because without an easy pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it's hard to get plaintiff's counsel interested in suing you at all.