Accidental shooting victim bids to buy out Bryco Arms

Deepa Bharath

A 17-year-old boy rendered quadriplegic in an accidental shooting is

getting closer to shutting down the Costa Mesa manufacturer of the

handgun that disabled him 10 years ago, his attorney said.

Attorneys submitted a $175,000 bid on behalf of Brandon Maxfield

in a Florida bankruptcy court Friday in an attempt to buy out the

company, which declared bankruptcy in May 2003, said Maxfield’s San

Rafael-based attorney Richard Ruggieri.

Bryco Arms filed for bankruptcy less than a month after an Oakland

jury held the company liable for Maxfield’s shooting. Maxfield was

paralyzed in 1994 after a family friend accidentally shot him while

trying to unload a .38-caliber Bryco handgun.

The jury found Bryco Arms 10% liable and three other gun

distributors 35% liable. The remaining fault was placed with the

pawnshop where the gun was bought, Willits Pawn; Maxfield’s parents;

and Larry Moreford, who pulled the trigger.

The same jury also concluded that Bryco Arms manufactured a

defective weapon. Attorneys convinced jurors that Bryco’s guns have

an inherent flaw because to unload it, a user must first unlock the

trigger lock.

On May 7, 2003, a jury awarded the teenager $50.9 million in

compensatory damages. Bryco has appealed that decision.

Neither Bryco’s representatives nor the company’s attorney, Ned

Nashban, could be reached for comment Friday.

The money for the bid came in the form of donations “from all over

the world,” Ruggieri said. The contributions came through a website

run by a nonprofit group called Brandon’s Arms

(https://www.brandonsarms.com), set up by the teen and his attorneys,

with the aim of shutting down Bryco Arms.

But raising money for the bid “doesn’t mean it’s over,” Ruggieri

said.

“My guess is that the judge is going to open it up for competitive

bidding,” he said. “That means we’re going to need all the help we

can get.”

Bryco stopped manufacturing the guns early this year, but that’s

not to say they won’t restart production, Ruggieri said.

Given the magnitude of the task, Maxfield is not giving up because

the cause is important to him, he said.

“Because his injury happened when he was 7, Brandon does not know

how to give up,” Ruggieri said. “He has had to set goal after goal

and meet them.”