New lawsuit filed by Old National Bank victims' families includes gun accessory supplier
Two days before the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Old National Bank, families of the those killed have a filed a lawsuit. It's the second lawsuit to be filed against a Louisville gun shop, but this one includes a gun accessory supplier and manufacturer.
The new lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Monday claims Louisville gun shop River City Firearms overlooked red flags when selling an AR-15-style rifle that was eventually used to kill five in the April 10 mass shooting at Old National Bank.
The civil suit is filed on behalf of the estates of three victims against River City Firearms, as well as RSR Group, a Florida wholesale distributor of firearms and accessories that supplies River City Firearms, and Magpul Industries Corp., a Texas manufacturer of firearms and firearms accessories.
Magpul manufactures large-capacity magazines and vertical grips, like those purchased by the gunman in the Old National Bank shooting. RSR sold those accessories to River City Firearms.
Derrick Meyers founded River City Firearms at 2915 Preston Highway in October 2015, per its articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State.
Contacted by The Courier Journal, River City Firearms's attorney, Matthew Taulbee, declined to comment on the suit. Messages left with RSR Group and Magpul Industries were not immediately returned.
The plaintiffs are the estates of Deana Eckert, Juliana Farmer and Tommy Elliott and the executors of those estates: Tommy Elliott's wife, Maryanne; Deana Eckert's husband, Michael; and Juliana Farmer's children, A'lia Tazhia Chambers and J'eyon Christopher Chambers.
The suit largely mirrors one filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court in January on behalf of six plaintiffs: Julie Andersen, Jimmy Evans, Dana Mitchell and Stephanie "Dallas" Schwartz, who were all injured in the attack but survived; and the families of James Tutt and Joshua Barrick, who were killed.
That suit was filed by Louisville attorney Tad Thomas of Thomas Law Offices, along with Antonio Romanucci of Romanucci & Blandin in Chicago and Alla Lefkowitz of the national group Everytown Law.
It alleged "red flags were present in spades" when River City Firearms sold the AR-15 to Connor Sturgeon, citing his suspicious behavior and lack of basic firearms knowledge.
Sturgeon told the clerk he wanted a firearm because a friend's home had recently been burglarized, per his own notes that were included in Louisville Metro Police's November report — "indicating that he wanted to buy an AR-15 for home defense, a use for which an AR-15 is particularly poorly suited for a novice shooter," the original complaint states.
When that lawsuit was filed, the attorneys held a press conference, and Hans Poppe of Poppe Law Firm said he would be filing a companion suit before the one-year statute of limitations was up.
During that press conference, Poppe said, "This legal action targets the retail of the assault weapon, highlighting the urgent need for responsible measures in gun stores."
The new suit, filed by Poppe on Monday, includes video screenshots of a River City Firearms employee "instructing Sturgeon how to use the AR-15-style rifle at the time of sale," as well as Sturgeon "incorrectly holding" the accessories.
The suit furthers the allegations in the January complaint by alleging that Magpul and RSR "failed to enact reasonable safeguards on the sale of accessories that they know increase a firearm's lethality."
Thomas Law Offices filed an amended complaint on Monday to include the new plaintiffs, Magpul and RSR Group. It alleges the same claims as the complaint filed by Poppe.
There is a federal law that impacts lawsuits against the gun industry.
President George W. Bush signed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005. The law gives the gun industry immunity if their gun is used in a crime. (Kentucky had a similar law enacted in 1988. The state gun immunity law was deemed unconstitutional in 1991, but the federal law takes precedence.)
There are exceptions to the 2005 law, though, including negligence on the part of a seller, which is what this suit, and the one filed in January, alleges.
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages against all defendants and loss of spousal consortium on behalf of Maryanne Elliott and Michael Eckert.
Stephanie Kuzydym is an investigative reporter. Reach her at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her at @stephkuzy
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Old National Bank families file second suit against River City Firearm
