TexasCHLforum.com

In an order released yesterday, Senior U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch ruled against the plaintiffs in the case of Sandy Phillips, et al., v. Lucky Gunner, LLC., et al.

Sandy and Lonnie Phillips [of San Antonio] are the parents of Jessica Ghawi, one of the victims of the Aurora movie theater shooting. The lawsuit was backed by the anti-gun Brady Center.

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The case was dismissed for failure to overcome the industry protections in the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (15 U.S.C. § 7901 et seq.), also known as PLCAA, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2005. The plaintiffs’ arguments were also found to collapse under a similar state law that protects the firearms community from frivolous and harassing tort claims.

Adding to the sting of losing the case, the Court also held that “defendants Lucky Gunner and the Sportsman’s Guide are entitled to an award of reasonable attorney fees and costs.”

sugar land dave wrote:Sorry we have to even talk about such sad events, but since the Brady bunch pushed this trial forward will they do the right thing and pay the defendant's costs or will they leave it to the grieving family to pay the judgement?

tomtexan wrote:

sugar land dave wrote:Sorry we have to even talk about such sad events, but since the Brady bunch pushed this trial forward will they do the right thing and pay the defendant's costs or will they leave it to the grieving family to pay the judgement?

My guess is that they (Brady bunch) won't pay a dime.

AndyC wrote:It's great that such a frivolous lawsuit was rejected, but my sense of triumph is tempered by sadness for the family.

Although they brought this result upon themselves by acting on their pain and anger, it's still a hard thing to know that their suffering has been added to immensely - and my hatred for the Brady Campaign has now doubled.

If Brady pays it (they're the attorneys, and the award is assessed against their client, not themselves) that'd be about 10% of their assets, or 5% of their budget. If they don't ... they're gonna have some serious problems finding clients for future cases.

“Those who ignite a fire should be responsible for the cost of suppressing it before it becomes a conflagration,” wrote Senior District Judge Richard P. Matsch about the Brady Campaign when he awarded $203,000 on June 17 to the retailers the organization sued. He was critical of the group for using the court to publicize its political agenda at the expense of a handful of retailers.

While it is not yet clear when the $111,971.10 fee reimbursement will be paid, we [Lucky Gunner] are going to donate 100% of what is recovered to groups that support and defend the 2nd Amendment. We will fight to recover these funds from the Brady Center and to hold the Brady Center responsible for yet another frivolous lawsuit.Please tell us where you want the recovered fees to go by voting in the form... [at the link just above].

TXBO wrote:The family may have a case against the attorneys for giving such bad advice.

ELB wrote:

TXBO wrote:The family may have a case against the attorneys for giving such bad advice.

Maybe legally but not morally. The parents allied themselves with the Brady bunch, and even became employees. I don't know if the lawyers are employees of Brady or outside counsel, perhaps that would make a difference in a claim for malpractice. Realistically, I don't see how either the parents or Brady could claim to be surprised by the suit being thrown out -- there is a history of these type of suits being squashed. This was a blatantly political effort to use the legal system to damage law-abiding companies, exactly the thing the PLCAA was enacted to prevent.

But it would amuse me to see the all those on the Brady side tie itself up in knots suing each other...