- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Aurora Victim's Family to Pay $200K After Trying to Sue Ammo Dealers

© Flickr / defenceimagesAurora Victim's Family to Pay $200K After Trying to Sue Ammo Dealers
Aurora Victim's Family to Pay $200K After Trying to Sue Ammo Dealers - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The family of one victim of the 2012 mass shooting in Colorado attempted to sue four ammunitions dealers and now, despite the case never making it to court, the same family has been ordered to pay $200,000 to the dealers in court fees.

The family of 24-year-old Jessica Ghawi, who was among 12 people shot and killed by James Holmes in an Aurora movie theater, says they were attempting to force change in the system when they filed lawsuits against four ammo dealers that had supplied Holmes with bullets.

This June 4, 2013 file photo shows Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in court in Centennial, Colo. - Sputnik International
Colorado Jurors Decide Aurora Killer Holmes Qualifies for Death Penalty

While perhaps a case of misplaced anger, the move has left the family crying foul: the lawsuit never made it to court, and the family says the judgement will bankrupt them.

“They have taken our daughter, and now they want to take our worldly goods,” Lonnie Phillips told MSNBC. “I think that’s a little much.”

Legal experts, however, have stated that the amount isn’t actually that high.

“You’d be shocked by how quickly fees can go up very, very high [with] the amount of time that’s spent preparing these lawsuits and working on their defense,” Robyn Thomas, executive director of the San Francisco-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, told the network.

The case was dismissed due to PLCAA, or the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a federal law signed by George W. Bush.

“What PLCAA does is it provides very broad, blanket immunity from civil lawsuits for both gun manufacturers and gun dealers,” Thomas said. “This is one example of a situation where somebody has tried to address liability, to go after bad actions of a dealer or manufacturer and PLCAA kept them from being able to do so.”

After the fatal terrorist shootings at an historic black church in South Carolina, President Barack Obama again cited lax gun laws as contributing to this type of mass violence. - Sputnik International
8 Facts You Should Know About Guns and Mass Shootings in US

One of the only exceptions that allows arms dealers to be held liable for shootings like the Aurora massacre is “negligent entrustment,” or selling to someone knowing, or in a position where they should have known, that the weapons or ammo would be used in a criminal act.  This is the exception that the Phillips family was attempting to use.

They asserted that because Holmes was purchasing thousands of rounds of assault weapon ammunition, they should have seen red flags.

The case was dismissed before the family could argue their points by Federal Judge Richard P. Matsch, who said that the case was for “political purposes” meant to “propagandize the public and stigmatize the defendants.”

“Those who ignite a fire should be responsible for the cost of suppressing it before it becomes a conflagration,” Matsch wrote in his order.

The family said they were going to appeal the decision, but dropped it, claiming that any additional legal fees would throw them into bankruptcy.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала