When Burglars Sue Armed Citizens & Home Defenders

One way or the other, he figures you’re going to pay.

“It’s better to be judged by 12 than carried by six,” they say, and they’re right…but you still need to worry about those 12.

When it comes to armed self and home defense, the discussion usually centers on what should happen long before a crisis: buying the gun that’s right for you, getting training on how to use it safely, and securing it discreetly. When the discussion turns to the possible aftermath of a defensive shooting, people usually focus on the immediate moments after the shot. But there’s one critical last line of defense that’s missing from those discussions, and that’s the homeowner’s legal liability. It’s enraging to contemplate, but due to America’s liberal tort laws it’s actually very easy for a burglar to sue the armed defender for having shot him. It happens all the time, in fact. Let’s have a peek:

1. Burglar sues Calif. homeowner, 90, who returned fire

According to this article, a 90-year-old man fought like a tiger for his life when an armed home invader held him captive and shot him once in the jaw. Using his wits, the daring senior escaped and retrieved his own gun, shooting his attacker several times. The attacker lived…and sued.

2. Man who shot intruder in his home sued for wrongful death

Here’s a fun one: A homeowner returned to his domicile one evening to find a naked and crazed man who had broken into his home. After said nude intruder attacked the homeowner and attempted to strangle him, the homeowner retrieved a gun and returned fire, killing the assailant. And then, according to this article:

Last year, a lawsuit was filed against the resident on behalf of the parents and son of the intruder. The lawsuit alleges that the resident used reckless and excessive force against the intruder. The family’s attorney suggested the resident provoked a confrontation by entering his own home after finding the door kicked in, instead of remaining outside and calling the police. (Emphasis mine.)

3. Legal Costs Mount for Bay Area Man Sued by Home Intruder He Shot

Here’s another story out of California, and you know the tune if not the words: A home invader went to an awful lot of trouble trying to break into this San Francisco man’s domicile, but now the burglar claims it was all a mistake and that he was simply trying to enter a different home. From the article:

“Joe Balistreri could hardly believe an intruder sued him for negligent use of a handgun. ‘That is my biggest issue, our judicial system allows these people to have the right to try to sue,’ he told KPIX 5.”

Outrageous though these examples are, the fact of the matter is that America’s tort system is extremely liberal; the Founding Fathers felt that the right to sue was very important, and that some vexatious lawsuits were the price we needed to pay to secure that right. We’re a gun-themed publication here, so we won’t go any further into that subject…other than to point out that as insane as it sounds, home defenders can be sued by criminals even if the home defender was 100% within his or her rights and faced no criminal charges.

What that means is that you should take a good, long look at your box(es) of defensive ammunition. You may have paid around 50 cents a round, but know that every single cartridge in that box comes with a $10,000 lawyer attached. Many defensive experts strongly recommend that armed citizens retain a defense lawyer with knowledge of Second Amendment issues “just in case,” and that’s great advice. However, you don’t have to do it on your own; rather than doing hours of research and days of legwork, look into the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) and their soup-to-nuts legal protection solution.

A USCCA membership comes complete with access to a countrywide network of Second Amendment litigators and defenders, bail bond protection to keep you out of jail, and up-front funding for your lawyer’s retainer. It’s a no-brainer insurance program that’s designed to keep you and your family right where you belong, on the legal, moral, and financial high ground. Click here to learn more!