Rockstar seeks to dismiss GTAIII lawsuit

Rockstar Games has reportedly asked a federal judge in Greenville to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the parents of a man killed in a random shooting as he drove through the Great Smoky Mountains on June 25. The two teenagers responsible for the shooting, which left a second person seriously wounded, claimed that they had decided to randomly shoot at vehicles on Interstate 40 after playing Grand Theft Auto III.

Rockstar has stated that the victims are trying to hold the company accountable "based on the expressive content of the video game" and claims that such "ideas and concepts," as well as the "purported psychological effects" of the shooters, are protected by the First Amendment's free-speech clause. Miami lawyer Jack Thompson, who is representing the victims, dismissed Rockstar's claims and is seeking to move the case back into state court for consideration under Tennessee's consumer protection act.