United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

“ On May 28, 1992, Arnold Jackson ("Jackson") was injured when he dropped a Titan .25 caliber semi—automatic pistol (the "pistol") , causing it to discharge unexpectedly. Jackson was rendered a quadriplegic and eventually died from his injuries. ”

“ The district court, however, frequently referenced Plaintiffs’ inability to produce evidence in support of the court’s jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims. For instance, the district court concluded that “there is insufficient evidence in the record to support [P] laintiffs’ contention” that their cause of action arises from Fratelli Tanfoglio’s forum—related contacts, Tanfoglio II, 2007 WL 1259216, at *6, and “there is no evidence in the record” demonstrating continuous or systematic contacts with Louisiana, id. ”

“ Plaintiffs—Appellants Linda Jackson, J ackson’s wife, and heir son Brian (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed suit on May 25, 1993, in Louisiana state court. Included as defendants were several American companies and three Italian companies: Fratelli Tanfoglio, S.n.c. ("Fratelli Tanfoglio") , Giuseppe Tanfoglio, S.p.a., and Tanfoglio Giuseppe, S.r.l. (collectively, the "Tanfoglio entities") . The American defendants removed the case to federal district court, where Plaintiffs obtained a default judgment of approximately $11 million against the Tanfoglio entities on December 18, 1998. ”