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Judge Says: 'Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country.'

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  • TrappedinCalifornia
    Calguns Addict
    • Jan 2018
    • 8009

    Judge Says: 'Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country.'

    Well, at least we're getting a few local laws and court decisions which seem to be going our way... 'Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country.' Judge dismisses suit against online dealer following Harrison woman's death

    A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against an online firearms marketplace by the father of a woman fatally shot by her estranged husband in Harrison in 2018...

    Sara Schmidt's father, Richard Webber, who serves as the administrator of Schmidt's estate, filed a lawsuit against Armslist, claiming the online firearms marketplace allowed Robert Schmidt to illegally obtain the gun used in the homicide as a result of "reckless and unlawful business practices."

    Robert Schmidt wasn't allowed to have a gun due to an ongoing domestic violence case — also involving Sara Schmidt. Robert Schmidt used Armslist to connect with a 19-year-old private seller and bought a handgun for $550 in a Walmart parking lot a day before he fatally shot his wife. While federal law requires background checks for sales by licensed gun sellers, no such requirement exists for private sales.

    In a decision filed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Griesbach dismissed Webber's lawsuit against Armslist, concluding Robert Schmidt's actions "constituted a superseding cause, alleviating" Armslist of liability for Sara Schmidt's death.

    "There is no reason to believe that even if Schmidt's estranged husband had not purchased a gun from a person who posted an advertisement on the Armslist website, Schmidt would still be alive," Griesbach's decision says. "Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country, and one does not need a gun to take another person's life..."

    It would be "out of proportion to the lawful conduct in which they engaged" to hold Armslist liable for Sara Schmidt's death and "would likely destroy their business," Griesbach's decision says...

    Schmidt died about five years after Yasmeen Daniel, who was killed at a spa in Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee, with two other women — Cary Robuck and Maelyn Lind — by her "abusive, estranged husband," Radcliffe Haughton, who also illegally obtained a gun by using Armslist, Webber's lawsuit says.

    The Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2019 upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed in the wake of that shooting, ruling that Armslist was protected by the Communications Decency Act from liability for the actions of users.
    Evidently, the Yasmeen Daniel case was kicked to SCOTUS and... Armslist Online Gun Sale Case Won’t Get Supreme Court Review.

    Here's the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in the Yasmeen Daniel case.

    This appears to be the decision in the Schmidt case... DECISION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO TRANSFER AND GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS

    ...It is clear from the complaint that Schmidt was shot and killed by her estranged husband, not Defendants, with a handgun he purchased from another party, again not Defendants. Based on the facts alleged, there is no reason to believe that even if Schmidt’s estranged husband had not purchased a gun from a person who posted an advertisement on the Armslist website, Schmidt would still be alive. Armslist is hardly the only source of guns in this country, and one does not even need a gun to take another person’s life. Schmidt was killed by a person so determined to take her life, so consumed by hatred, that he was even willing to take his own. The likelihood that such a person would have found another source from which to obtain a firearm or another way to take Schmidt’s life is more plausible than Plaintiff’s claim that she would still be alive. Absent cause, Plaintiff’s negligence claim against Defendants fails. But even if Plaintiff’s complaint did state a plausible claim for negligence, the result would be the same...

    Here, the Court concludes that Wisconsin’s public policy bars this suit. Because the injury Plaintiff suffered is too remote from and out of proportion to Defendants’ conduct and allowing recovery in this case would place an unreasonable a burden on Defendants...

    Imposing civil liability on Defendants for Schmidt’s murder is also out of proportion to the lawful conduct in which they engaged and would likely destroy their business. Indeed, the latter might be Plaintiff’s goal. This case, and many like it, represent a nationwide effort to use litigation as a way of circumventing the legislative process in the area of gun control... But determining public policy based on one tragic set of circumstances is not the proper function of courts or juries. To be sure, there may be good reasons to prohibit websites, such as Armslist, that connect private gun sellers with gun buyers, some of whom are intent on violating federal and state laws prohibiting certain individuals from owning or possessing guns. In a government such as ours, however, public policy is more properly determined by the peoples’ elected representatives rather than by the courts. The legislative process allows a full airing of all possible reasons both for and against a proposed policy and the potential consequences of adopting it. A single lawsuit focused on the tragic loss of a young woman’s life does not...
    There were actually seven counts, but that appears to have been the key, proving 'fatal' to the other counts, leading to...

    For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s motion to transfer (Dkt. No. 10) is DENIED. Furthermore, Defendants’ motions to dismiss (Dkt. Nos. 5 & 6) are GRANTED-IN-PART and DENIED-IN-PART. The Court concludes that it has jurisdiction over Defendants, but that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. This case is therefore dismissed, and the Clerk is directed to enter judgment accordingly...
    Last edited by TrappedinCalifornia; 11-11-2021, 4:31 PM.
  • #2
    bohoki
    I need a LIFE!!
    • Jan 2006
    • 20741

    its major news when the courts show common sense

    Comment

    • #3
      pacrat
      I need a LIFE!!
      • May 2014
      • 10254

      Projecting 3rd party blame for the actions of criminals.

      Another instance of leftists trying END RUNs around PLCAA?



      Good On the Court!

      Comment

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