Jury rules in favor of Sig Sauer in Somerset County detective’s lawsuit
David Cole, center, sits with his wife, Kimberly Cole, and attorney Michael Bigos during a July 2023 news conference in Portland announcing a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Sig Sauer. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
BANGOR — A jury Friday ruled in favor of top gunmaker Sig Sauer in a Somerset County detective’s lawsuit over alleged defects with the company’s P320 pistol, more than four years after the detective’s service weapon unintentionally fired in its holster and struck him in the leg.
The verdict, returned by a jury of nine Friday in U.S. District Court in Bangor, marks the latest chapter in a slew of high-powered, nationwide litigation in recent years regarding incidents of unintended firings of the P320, a model popular among law enforcement agencies and military forces.
The jury, according to its verdict form filed with the court, effectively found that New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer did not fail to provide adequate warnings about the risks of using the pistol; the company was not negligent; and the pistol did not have a defect when it was sold.
Because of that, the jury did not reach the question of awarding damages to Detective David Cole and his wife, Kimberly Cole.
Following nine days of testimony, the jury Thursday afternoon received instructions from U.S. Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison and heard roughly hourlong closing arguments from each side. They retired to the jury room around 4:30 p.m. to begin deliberating and called it a night about four hours later.
After returning to court Friday, the jury deliberated all day and returned the verdict around 5:30 p.m., according to Michael Bigos, an attorney for the Coles.
Advertisement
Bigos declined to comment on the verdict Friday evening.
A spokesperson for Sig Sauer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdict.
Related
Somerset County detective’s lawsuit against gunmaker Sig Sauer heads to trial
Sig Sauer, both before the trial and during it, filed various requests for judgments in its favor, most of which were denied. Before sending the case to the jury, Nivison, court records show, ruled in Sig Sauer’s favor on the Coles’ claim of fraudulent concealment. That allegation basically accused Sig Sauer of purposely hiding facts about the P320 in an attempt to deceive David Cole and the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
The Coles filed the lawsuit in 2023, gathering reporters at a news conference to announce it.
David Cole, center, sits with his wife, Kimberly Cole, right, and attorney Michael Bigos during a July 2023 news conference in Portland announcing a lawsuit against gun manufacturer Sig Sauer. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
David Cole, now 43, was seriously injured when his P320 fired during the execution of a search warrant in Sangerville in Piscataquis County on May 4, 2022. Although he has returned to work, his lawyers argued he still has permanent injuries, physical limitations and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Related
Maine detective sues gun-maker, says he was shot by his holstered service weapon
David Cole is the son of Eugene Cole, a Somerset County Sheriff’s Office corporal who was shot and killed while on the job in 2018. The elder Cole’s killer, John Williams, is serving a life sentence for murder.
Advertisement
Closing arguments indicated the trial, in large part, was a battle of expert witnesses who were hired to give their opinions. Lawyers for each side took jabs at the credibility and conduct of the other side’s experts as they made their final pleas to the jury.
Robert Zimmerman, one of the Coles’ attorneys, in his closing argument Thursday blasted Sig Sauer for failing to live by its promise of “safety without compromise” in selling a gun with a very short trigger pull and no external safety mechanism.
The P320, he said, was designed by people with little experience and taken to market after multiple failed design attempts. And Sig Sauer knew about the pattern of unintentional P320 discharges going back to 2016, yet continued to market the gun, Zimmerman said.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office was not informed about the risk and pattern of incidents when it selected the P320 as its service weapon, Zimmerman said. The office immediately switched to a Glock model pistol after Cole was shot, he added.
Martha Gaythwaite, of the law firm Verrill in Portland, in her closing argument on behalf of Sig Sauer acknowledged the case was “sad” and called it an accident. But she said both at the beginning and end of the trial that the P320 is a well-designed, well-manufactured gun, with features law enforcement officers want and cannot fire unless the trigger is pulled back with sufficient force.
The misfiring of David Cole’s gun, Sig Sauer argued, was due to a foreign object, likely a zipper on the detective’s jacket, coming into contact with the trigger.
Advertisement
Gaythwaite pointed to several decisions the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office made — including buying a holster from another manufacturer that did not cover the trigger and the office’s requirement, like many agencies, that officers carry a live round in the chamber — that contributed to the shooting. She said, however, Sig Sauer was not blaming the sheriff’s office.
Gaythwaite also made an analogy to a gourmet chef knife: the sharp blade may cut and injure someone accidentally, but that is a risk people understand, she said.
“It’s the same thing with the P320,” Gaythwaite told the jury.
The Coles’ lawsuit is part of a massive wave of litigation over the P320 in the last decade. Their legal team included several attorneys from the Philadelphia-based personal injury law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky.
Zimmerman told the TV program “Inside Edition” last year that the firm at that time represented more than “100 victims who have been injured by the P320 without their fingers touching the trigger.”
The Coles were also represented by Bigos, who, at the time the lawsuit was filed, was with Berman & Simmons, one of Maine’s leading personal injury law firms. He now has his own law office.
Advertisement
Sig Sauer was represented by attorneys from Littleton Joyce Ughetta & Kelly, which has offices in several states and specializes in complex corporate defense litigation. In the Coles’ lawsuit, the manufacturer also had attorneys from Verrill, which has a large presence in Maine and across the Northeast.
Both of the large national firms involved tout respective wins in P320 cases on their websites, as does Sig Sauer.
Related
Gun manufacturer responds to lawsuit alleging one of its guns is unsafe, prone to misfiring
In response to the many lawsuits like the Coles’ in recent years, Sig Sauer has embarked on its own public relations campaign adamantly denying the accusations.
“The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull — that is a fact,” the company said in a 2025 statement. “The allegations against the P320 are nothing more than individuals seeking to profit or avoid personal responsibility.”
The statement claims “anti-gun groups, members of the mainstream media, trial attorneys, and other uninformed and agenda-driven parties” were behind the “baseless allegations” and all have “ulterior motives.”
In New Hampshire, where Sig Sauer’s U.S. operation is headquartered, legislators passed a law in 2025 that effectively protects the company from the kinds of claims made in many of the P320 lawsuits.
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: federal court, gun sales, guns, lawsuit, lawsuits, morning sentinel, Somerset County Sheriff's Office
Jake covers Skowhegan and Somerset County for the Morning Sentinel. He started reporting at the Morning Sentinel in November 2023. Jake grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Tufts University. While. More by Jake Freudberg
