There was more good news for Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick Taser (NASDAQ:TASR) Tuesday morning. According to press releases issued Friday and Monday, two more lawsuits against the company have been dismissed, marking the 10th and 11th court victories for Taser over the last 18 months.
On Friday, it was a wrongful death case in Texas in which the plaintiff, according to the release, failed to "state a claim upon which relief can be granted." This is basically a win on a technicality, because it means there's no basis on which a remedy can be reasonably sought. But a win is a win, right? Yep. And Monday brought another one. This time, a court in Michigan dismissed with prejudice claims arising from a training injury. The "with prejudice" ruling prohibits the plaintiff from refiling the complaint.
Not surprisingly, investors were just short of giddy over the back-to-back wins. The shares were up more than 8% Monday. And they were up nearly as much Tuesday morning. That's good news for Rule Breaking investors who've bought on our recommendations. But can the run-up continue? Sure, so long as Taser keeps winning in court and books a contract here and there.
Winning, however, won't be easy. Not that I'm a lawyer. (We leave the courtroom stuff to Foolish colleague Rich Smith, who is an attorney.) I'm just considering the law of large numbers. According to its most recent quarterly filing, the stun gun maker was involved in 44 wrongful death or personal injury lawsuits. Even a single loss could put a bit of a hurt on the stock. Thankfully, such a result doesn't appear imminent. But more filings seem likely. And that means a long, hard, and costly battle for Taser.
No doubt, these legal victories provide a measure of sweet redemption for the company. Shareholders, however, need nothing less than 42 more.
For related Foolishness:
- Last month, New Orleans needed a Taser.
- Whoops, Taser lost a vowel.
- Finally, Taser had a good day.
Taser is one of the few Rule Breakers recommendations losing to the market. Take a risk-free 30-day trial and find out which picks are helping the portfolio crush the market by more than 20% as of this writing. Or subscribe for a year and get Stocks 2006 , which features our top analysts' best picks for the year ahead, free. That's right, we said free. Nada. Gratis. And everything is backed by our ironclad money-back guarantee. All you have to lose is the prospect of better returns.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers thinks it stunning that anyone would prefer a gun to a Taser. Tim didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication. You can find out what's in his portfolio by checking Tim's Fool profile. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.
