Sig Sauer Moves to Unseal P320 FMECA After Army Backs Off
One week after arguing for continued secrecy around the Army’s Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) of the P320, Sig Sauer has changed course in Glasscock v. Sig Sauer. In a new, unopposed motion, the company asks the Missouri district court to unseal the FMECA and the class‑certification filings that rely on it.
What changed
- On August 29, 2025, the U.S. Army informed Sig Sauer it does not intend to seek protection for the FMECA.
- Sig Sauer has now filed an unopposed motion to unseal, withdrawing the prior stance that the documents must remain under seal for “national security” reasons.
What will be unsealed
Sig asks the court to make public, in full, the plaintiff’s class‑certification briefing and exhibits that reference or attach the FMECA, including:
- ECF 128 – Plaintiff’s Suggestions in Support of Class Certification
- ECF 128‑4 – Expert Report of Beau A. Biller
- ECF 128‑5 – Declaration of Benjamin D. Gatrost
- ECF 128‑13 – FMECA Spreadsheet
- ECF 128‑14 – FMECA Memorandum
- ECF 169 – Plaintiff’s Reply in Support of Class Certification
Yes—Sig confirms there are two FMECA records: the spreadsheet and a FMECA Memorandum. The latter, first hinted at in Sig’s appellate papers, raises obvious questions about what the memo contains and who authored it. If the memorandum is Sig‑authored, it could shed light on how the company framed the Army’s analysis internally.
What (narrowly) stays sealed
Sig asks to keep only non‑public third‑party names (individuals who reported alleged inadvertent discharges) under seal where they appear in a separate filing. None of the plaintiff’s class‑certification papers implicate that request.
Why now—and why it matters
This pivot comes on the heels of The Trace’s intervention in the Eighth Circuit to unseal class‑certification materials that cited the FMECA extensively—and after weeks of briefing where Sig invoked military‑secrecy concerns. With the Army now declining to seek protection, that rationale largely falls away.
For owners and readers, unsealing should bring the central hazard analysis—long argued over in abstractions—into daylight. PSI will publish the documents as soon as they hit the public docket.
Copy of motion
Background and prior coverage
- Original publication of the unredacted FMECA and context:
The Document Sig Sauer Doesn’t Want You to See About the P320 - Class certification explainer and what it opened up in discovery:
Missouri Judge Certifies P320 Class Action - Phil Strader’s on‑air remarks about the FMECA and the public record:
Sig Sauer VP of Consumer Affairs Discusses the Document They Didn’t Want You to See - How the appellate fight over sealing began:
In the Eighth Circuit, the Fight Over Sig Sauer’s P320 FMECA Goes Public
If granted, this motion (Doc. 194) would place the FMECA and the class‑certification record on the public docket. I’ll link the filings as soon as they appear.