I think Shoo is onto it, guys.

If you send, say, your favorite 629 back to Smith & Wesson that you've had forever and have turned down $2,000 for it from someone with more money than sense, and they find it to be totally unsafe for whatever reason, they have nothing to lose by keeping it and refusing to return that particular item ( except maybe a public relations black eye from a small portion who might notice).

Think about it . . . they keep it and offer you a new replacement or the equivalent in cash, or take the chance of having to pay you or your survivors millions in damages and medical bills if it maims or kills you or someone else if they return it ( plus the public relations nightmare that would turn into). Common sense - no contest.

You can howl and jump up and down and maybe even get more than replacement cost out of it just to shut you up and make you go away - or pay a lawyer to go through the motions and come away with the same results while enriching the legal profession.

But the manufacturer comes out ahead and safe anyway and that is always the position they are going to take. You can argue "right or wrong" and that is a judgment call when weighing the risks and potential hazards. But "legal" in many cases is what you can get away with, because no court is going to return that firearm to you to use as you see fit and indemnify the manufacturer against any liability and allow you to assume total liability now and in the future from whomever eventually winds up with it - ain't gonna happen.