This is a transcript of the lawsuit for those who are interested. Spoiler alert, it's not the ammunition, and nor is it a political ploy of some sort. It is also not an isolated occurrence.
CHRISTOPHER S. PORRINO
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW JERSEY
R.J. Hughes Justice Complex ?v -
25 Market Street
P.O. Box 112
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0112
Attorney for Plaintiff
RECEIVED
By: Beth Leigh Mitchell
Assistant Attorney General
Attorney ID No.: 034031997
(609)599?6869
Beth.Mitchell@lps.state.nj.us OFNJ
STATE OF NEW JERSEY, SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
. MERCER COUNTY
Plaintiff, LAW DIVISION
v. DOCKET NO.:
SIG SAUER, INC.,
COMPLAINT
Defendant.
The State of New Jersey, Division of State Police,
collectively referred to herein as the ?State?, by way of Complaint
against Defendant Sig Sauer Inc., alleges:
Factual Background
1. Plaintiff, State of New Jersey includes: the Department
of Treasury, Division of Purchase and Property which is authorized
by statute to procure contracts for goods and services on behalf of
the Departments and agencies in the executive branch of the State
government; and the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division
of New Jersey State Police is a responsible for a variety of
Statewide policing missions in the State of New Jersey.
2. Defendant, Sig Sauer, Inc. is a New Hampshire corporation
registered and authorized to do business in New Jersey.
3. On or about November 29, 2011, the State of New Jersey,
Division of Purchase and Property (on behalf of the New Jersey
State Police) issued a Request for Proposal to
solicit proposals for Police and Homeland Security Equipment and
Supplies, and. awarded. contracts for' State Contract T-0106 to
multiple vendors on May 1, 2011. A true and correct copy of the
RFP, which forms the scope of work of the contract, is annexed
hereto as Exhibit 1.
4. New Jersey State Police (NJSP) determined to test various
weapons by various manufacturers in order to select a new duty
weapon for State Troopers. After testing the Sig Sauer P229 Legacy
as well as nineteen other weapons, NSJP selected the P229 Legacy as
the duty weapon. NJSP experienced no problems with the functioning
of the P229 Legacy weapons during the testing process.
5. The State issued purchase orders under to Eagle Point Gun
Shop for the provision of 3,000 Sig Sauer P2295 for a total price
of $1,844,000.00.
6. The State ultimately paid Sig Sauer $1,657,000 for the
P2295, after Sig Sauer, through Eagle Point Gun Shop purchased all
of the NJSP's prior duty weapons for scrap value. A.true and
accurate COPY of the purchase orders and invoices is annexed hereto
as Exhibit 3.
7. The State also purchased from State Contract T-0106, from
a different vendor, 8,400 holsters of varying types for use with
the Sig Sauer weapons, Safariland, for $856,680.21. A true and
accurate copy of the purchase orders and the invoices for the
holsters is annexed hereto as Exhibit 4.
8. NJSP received the shipments from Sig Sauer in summer 2014
and began to use the P229s in September 2014 during the second
firearms qualifications session. At that time, the weapons had a
serious malfunction. Many of the P229s sporadically exhibited a
failure to extract. That is, the weapons failed to eject the spent
shell casing from the barrel after being fired, causing the next
cartridge to become jammed behind the casing, and resulting in an
inability to continue firing the weapon (FTE). An FTE malfunction
renders a gun unfit for police use because a Trooper may be unable
to fire more than one round of ammunition in a life-threatening
situation.
9. NJSP immediately notified Sig Sauer of the FTE
malfunctions. Sig Sauer suggested that the extractor pins in the
P229s may be causing the FTE malfunctions by failing to effectively
latch on to the casing to cause it to eject. Sig Sauer began
replacing the extractor pins in some of the malfunctioning P2295.
10. Sig Sauer next suggested that a factory mold may be
responsible for the issue. NJSP sent some of its P229s to the Sig
Sauer factory for investigation, and Sig Sauer concluded that a
misapplication of the coating on the barrels was the cause. Sig
Sauer shipped a supply of new barrels to NJSP to replace the
barrels on the defective P229s.
11. The FTE malfunctions continued. NJSP holds periodic
firearms qualifications at which Troopers are required to
demonstrate they still meet the marksmanship and other criteria to
be qualified to carry their duty weapons. On July 6, 2015, after
the 2015 first NJSP periodic firearms qualifications,
representatives from Sig Sauer visited the NJSP to diagnose the
problem. The Sig Sauer representative attributed the FTE
malfunctions to the extractor springs, which are responsible for
forcing the casings out of the barrel. Sig Sauer agreed to ship
250 replacement extractor springs.
12. By the second 2015 firearms qualification session, in
October 2015, the FTE malfunction had still not been resolved. Sig
Sauer was again notified. Sig Sauer representatives informed NJSP
that they would send extractor springs used for a different model
weapon to correct the problem.
13. At the end of October 2015, NJSP focused on the issue
that the guns they had received, the P229 Enhanced Elite handguns,
were different from the weapons the State Police had
initially tested, the P229 Legacy. Though the weapons were the
essentially the same P229 model, the parts in the P229 Enhanced
Elite, including the extractor system, differed from those in the
P229 Legacy. NJSP suspected that the different parts might account
for the FTE malfunction, because the Legacy did not exhibit FTE
malfunctions when it was tested. NJSP spoke to Sig Sauer about
this observation on or about November 4, 2015.
14. On or about November 4, 2015, Sig Sauer agreed to replace
the P229 Enhanced Elites with the P229 Legacies and provided a
timeline to do so.
15. Sig' Sauer failed. to 'meet the delivery timeline. It
delivered only 364 of the 750 Legacies it had agreed to provide by
the end of the first week of January, 2016. Sig Sauer then
informed NJSP that it could deliver only half of the 1000 P229
Legacies that it had agreed to deliver by the end of January 2016.
16. During the week of January 12, 2016, the State Police
Academy class participated in a combat firearms course at the
Training Academy using the replacement P229 Legacy handguns. Sig
Sauer representatives were present to witness the P229 Legacies'
performance.
17. The P229 Legacies exhibited FTE malfunctions, both when
NJSP practice ammunition and when NJSP duty ammunition were used.
Because of the FTE malfunctions, the Academy class was forced to
stop using the P229 Legacy for the training.
18. At the end of January 2016, NJSP and Sig Sauer
representatives met to test Sig Sauer's most recent shipment of
P229 Legacies. Twenty-five P229 Legacies from the State Police
inventory were randomly selected for inspection and testing. Sig
Sauer gunsmiths inspected the weapons to determine whether they
complied with Sig Sauer?s specifications.
19. After the inspection set forth in paragraph 18, Sig Sauer
representatives immediately "red-lined" five of the twenty-five
P229 Legacies because they were so egregiously noncompliant with
Sig Sauer's specifications that they could no longer be used. Five
more P229 Legacies were added from the NJSP inventory to the pool
to be tested. After the inspection as completed, NJSP members
randomly selected five weapons to fire. During the first session
using qualification ammunition, three out of the five weapons
exhibited numerous FTE malfunctions. All five tested weapons were
then serviced by the Sig Sauer gunsmiths. They were subsequently
tested again using the State Police duty ammunition. Once again,
FTE malfunctions occurred with one of the handguns. The State
Police canceled the remainder of the testing session.
20. On January 27, 2016, Sig Sauer advised NJSP that it had
completed further "testing" and. determined that the barrel was
causing the P229 Legacy FTE malfunctions.
21. NJSP declined to consider further discussion with Sig
Sauer about fixes for the P229 Legacy FTE malfunctions about the
issue. On February 1, 2016, the P229 Legacy handguns were returned
to Sig Sauer.
22. After spending sixteen months and substantial quantities
or time and ammunition in the effort to resolve the FTE
malfunctions with Sig Sauer, NJSP determined that it needed to find
a more reliable weapon. Each of Sig Sauer's numerous proposed
"fixes" had proved ineffective. NJSP was concerned about the risks
that the unresolved P229 FE malfunctions posed to the State
Troopers' safety. That the P2293 exhibited the FTE malfunctions
sporadically, specifically concerned NJSP officials: They could not
be confident that after the prevalence of the FTE malfunction in
both the P229 Enhanced Elite and Legacy, with all of the various
replacement parts that had been provided, that any remedy that Sig
Sauer could not propose would ever be entirely effective because a
P229 that did not exhibit FTE malfunctions during one test could
exhibit FTE malfunctions at a later time.
23. NJSP subsequently tested various weapons from several
manufacturers, including Sig Sauer, and ultimately selected the
Generation 4 Glock 19 as its duty weapon in place of the Sig Sauer
P229s. NJSP has purchased the Glock 19s and all of the Troopers
have qualified with them.
24. NJSP was also forced to purchase a new set of holsters,
as the Safariland holsters purchased for the Sig Sauer P229 weapons
were incompatible with the Glock 19s.
(Breach of Contract)
25. The State repeats and realleges all of the above
allegations as if set forth fully herein.
26. Sig Sauer has breached the contract with the State by
providing defective weapons and failing to correct the problem
despite the State providing repeated opportunities to do so.
27. The State has sustained damages as a result of Sig
Sauer?s breach of contract and is entitled to compensation from Sig
Sauer.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment:
1. Declaring that Defendant Sig Sauer breach the contract;
2. Declaring that Ordering Sig Sauer to refund the full cost
the State paid for the P229s, $1,657,000;
3. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the cost
of holsters purchased for the defective weapons, $856,680.21;
4. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the cost of
ammunition used for the additional testing required to attempt to
address the P229 FTI malfunctions; and
5. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the time
spent by NJSP Troopers and officials to attempt to address the P229
FTE malfunction.
6. Granting such other and further relief as may be
equitable and just.
COUNT TWO
(Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing)
28. The State repeats and realleges all of the above
allegations as if set forth fully herein.
29. Sig Sauer has breached the covenant of good faith and
fair dealing by supplying the NJSP with defective weapons.
30. The State has sustained damages as a result of Sig
Sauer's breach of the Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing and
is entitled to compensation from Sig Sauer.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment:
1. Declaring that Defendant Sig Sauer breach the covenant of
good faith and fair dealing;
2. Declaring that Ordering Sig Sauer to refund the full cost
the State paid for the P2295, $1,657,000;
3. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the cost
of holsters purchased for the defective weapons, $856,680.21;
4. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the cost of
ammunition used for the additional testing required to attempt to
address the P229 FTI malfunctions; and5. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the time
spent by NJSP Troopers and officials to attempt to address the P229
FTE malfunction.
6. Granting such other and further relief as may be
equitable and just.
COUNT THREE
(Breach of Warranty)
31. The State repeats and realleges all of the above
allegations as if set forth fully herein.
32. The State gave Sig Sauer every opportunity to correct the
FTE malfunctions with the P229 Enhanced Elites and the P229
Legacies, under the terms of the warranty, but the P2293 continued
to have FTE malfunctions.
33. Sig Sauer breached its warranty.
34. The State has sustained damages as a result of Sig
Sauer's breach of the warranty and is entitled to compensation from
Sig Sauer.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment:
1. Declaring that Defendant Sig Sauer, Inc. is in breach of
its warranty;
2. Declaring that Ordering Sig Sauer to refund the full cost
the State paid for the P229s, $1,657,000;
3. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the cost
of holsters purchased for the defective weapons, $856,680.21;
4. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the cost of
ammunition used for the additional testing required to attempt to
address the P229 FTI malfunctions; and
5. Ordering Sig Sauer to compensate the State for the time
spent by NJSP Troopers and officials to attempt to address the P229
FTE malfunction.
6. Granting such other and further relief as may be
equitable and just.
Respectfully submitted,
CHRISTOPHER S. PORRINO
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW
Attorney for the Plaintiff
WW.
Beth Leigh Mitchell
Assistant Attorney General
Dated: April 24, 2017
DESIGNATION OF TRIAL COUNSEL
Beth Leigh Mitchell is hereby designated to try this
matter.
Regards.
Mark
