Judge dismisses lawsuit against Knoxville ammo company
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RJ SANGOSTI
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against a Knoxville ammunition company in connection with the 2012 Aurora, Colo., theater shooting and ordered plaintiffs to pay the company's court costs.
Last week a jury convicted James Holmes of carrying out the attack.
Federal Judge Richard P. Matsch dismissed the case against Lucky Gunner LLC and other defendants and ordered that the plaintiffs pay Lucky Gunner legal costs of about $111,971.00.
Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, parents of a victim in the shooting, filed a suit against Lucky Gunner and several other shooting and law enforcement supply companies that sold Holmes ammunition and equipment used in the shooting.
The suit, which was also supported by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, did not seek monetary damages, but demanded a change in some of the business practices of the defendant companies.
In his order to dismiss the case Matsch said the suit was filed for propaganda purposes.
"It is apparent that this case was filed to pursue the political purposes of the Brady Center and, given the failure to present any cognizable legal claim, bringing these defendants into the Colorado court where the prosecution of James Holmes was proceeding appears to be more of an opportunity to propagandize the public and stigmatize the defendants than to obtain a court order," the judge's order said.
The company has said it will donate the recovered legal fees to gun-rights organizations.
Lucky Gunner, which receives mail at the UPS Store on Cedar Bluff Road and lists a mailing address in New York, did not respond to requests for comment. Records show that it was founded by UT graduates Jordan Mollenhour and Dustin E. Gross, who also are former Knoxville real estate developers.
The company addressed the issue on its website:
"We're a small team of hardworking people, and we took the Brady Center's assault against us and the 2nd Amendment very seriously. So far, we've spent more than $150,000 of our own money to hire the best attorneys we could find. Our goal was to protect our livelihood and to protect the 2nd Amendment rights of Americans to responsibly buy and sell ammunition online. We believe this lawsuit was just one step in the direction of sidestepping Congress and outlawing the sale of ammunition online," the company said.
The case is being appealed.
The Brady Center did not respond to requests for comment.
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