The JA lawsuit and the Cobra lawsuits are totally separate.
Jimenez: The KC lawsuit in January 2020 takes aim at an alleged gun trafficking scheme led by James Samuels, a former KC Firefighter. Samuel was charged with federal gun crimes in October 2018. According to
the lawsuit, Samuels repeatedly placed orders for firearms from Jimenez Arms and had them shipped to a previously licensed local gun dealer called Conceal & Carry that had been dissolved by the state of Missouri. Samuels is awaiting trial on related criminal charges in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. Alla Lefkowitz, the director of affirmative litigation at Everytown Law alleges that on two occasions Jimenez Arms shipped guns directly to Samuels' home, "knowing that he was not a licensed dealer and knowing that he was going to resell these guns,"
Source:
www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article239013948.html
My hunch: Once the dust settles and the lawyers take their pound of flesh, that the Bryco/Jennings/Jimenez firearms will re-emerge under a different name/owner.
Cobra: Travis Barthel, a school teacher, was shot on Feb. 29 of 2016 when his Cobra derringer was jostled. The lawsuit against Cobra claims the gun was defective. According to his lawsuit, Barthel routinely carried a Derringer around his property for personal protection. Barthel had his Derringer in a jacket he was holding as he entered his garage to take out the garbage. When he placed the jacket on a table, one of the barrels fired, striking him in the abdomen with a 9mm slug. The wound resulted in a large amount of blood loss, and medical personnel needed 16 units of blood to keep him alive. The lawsuit contends that the Derringer has a manufacturing defect that can lead to unintentional firing. When the firearm is not cocked, the hammer rests on the firing pin, which in turn rests on the primer. The lawsuit alleged that the "direct contact allows the gun to unexpectedly discharge without any purposeful movement of the trigger or hammer as the design of the Derringer is such that no momentum is necessary to initiate firing of the handgun." Additionally, the lawsuit also alleged that Cobra bought the design and equipment used to manufacture the Derringers from Davis Industries, which filed for bankruptcy in 1999 amid lawsuits accusing the company of failing to include enough safety features on its firearms and of negligently marketing them. Cobra, the lawsuit says, did not add any additional safety features to the guns. The Barthel lawsuit was resolved "amicably" with undisclosed terms in March of 2019.
Source:
www.argusleader.com/story/news/2019/03/12/gunshot-victim-settles-suit-against-cobra-enterprises/3134463002/
My take: Prior to the lawsuit, Cobra had already been struggling. They had made efforts to rebrand themselves as Kodiak Industries, which kind of stalled.
Kodiak was working on a hand print grip that only allowed designated shooters to fire the gun, pissed off many many people in the firearms industry. Interestingly enough, early Denali pistols were stamped "Kodiak Industries", while later guns were stamped "Cobra Industries". The lawsuit just added more stress. My guess is the ugly trigger guard is part of the lawsuit settlement, perhaps at the insurance company's insistence.
