Civil prosecution immunity?

[SteveM4A1]

Certainly, check the the policy, but almost all standard policies have the "intentional act" exclusion, which is why there is firearms specific insuance.

Which is why I brought it up.

 

[Alamo]

My understanding of the Texas version is that if you can show that your shooting was justified self-defense, then it doesn't matter what other evidence the plaintiff has as to "breach of duty", the plaintiff's case gets dropped. So it seems that the very first determination in a civil lawsuit would be "self-defense or not", and if "self-defense" then everything stops (and hence having a statement from the GJ or DA that there's nothing to prosecute would be immensely helpful). Whereas prior to the statute, "self-defense" was just one of many factors considered in deciding if the respondent or defendant (or whatever you call the guy being sued) could be held liable for something.

I do have some trouble imagining a scenario where a person had a good self-defense shooting but somehow breached some duty to the plaintiff. Perhaps if you shot him 17 times, he (or his heirs) could claim that although that overall the shooting was SD, shooting him so many times was unnecessary. In this case I could see that being a matter of dispute to be worked out in a trial. But with the "immunity" provision, as long as you show you shot in self-defense, you win. No going over how many times it is necessary to shoot and all that.

As for Florida's self-defense immunity statute, it apparently does have a legal effect: loser pays. If the plaintiff loses, the defendant can recover attorney's fees and lost income.

 

[jwh20]

Remember that you can sue anyone for any reason. Prevailing in court is another thing. But if you get hit with a civil suit you will almost certainly want to hire an attorney to defend you even if it's frivolous. That costs money and time and that's what the people who file these kinds of suits count on. Usually they have no resources or income so even if you do get the case thrown out and a judgement against them there is nothing to collect.