A coalition of Catholic nuns filed a lawsuit filed this week saying the gun maker Smith & Wesson has put shareholders at risk in the way it makes, markets and sells its AR-15-style rifle.

The nuns, who are members of four congregations and are Smith & Wesson shareholders, argue the gun maker is exposing itself to liability by intentionally violating laws in its production and sale of the rifles, which have been used in several high-profile mass shootings.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the 8th Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada, states Smith & Wesson “has enjoyed with abandon the record-breaking profits from its sale of AR-15 rifles, seemingly unfazed by the exponential rise in gun deaths and mass shootings carried out with its product in the United States.”

The nuns are from Adrian Dominican Sisters in Adrian, Mich.; the Sisters of Bon Secours USA in Marriottsville, Md.; the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia in Aston, Penn.; and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, U.S.-Ontario Province in Marylhurst, Ore.

Mark Smith, CEO and president of Smith & Wesson, called the lawsuit “frivolous” and said the nuns were “not interested in the best interests of the company or its stockholders.”

He called the suit another instance in “their long history of attempting to hijack and abuse the shareholder advocacy process to harm our reputation and company.”

Earlier this year, the nuns sponsored a resolution to have Smith & Wesson conduct an assessment of the human rights impact of its business practices, but a majority of shareholders voted against it in September.

The nuns’ action this week is a derivative lawsuit, a legal mechanism that allows shareholders to sue the leaders of a company for breaching their duties.