Spurned by court, Brady Center ordered to pay legal fees of sued ammo dealer

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence must pay the legal costs of an ammunition seller it unsuccessfully sued, a federal judge has ruled.

Federal judge Richard P. Matsch threw out the lawsuit last week and ordered the Brady Center to compensate online ammunition dealer Lucky Gunner for its legal fees, calling the suit “an opportunity to propagandize the public.”

The Brady Center had attempted to sue Lucky Gunner for selling ammunition to James Holmes, the alleged killer in the mass shooting that left 12 people dead at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, in July 2012.

From The Washington Free Beacon:

The Brady Center had argued in their suit that the way Lucky Gunner sells ammunition is “unreasonably dangerous and create a public nuisance.”

“A crazed, homicidal killer should not be able to amass a military arsenal, without showing his face or answering a single question, with the simple click of a mouse,” Brady Center’s Legal Action Project Director Jonathan Lowy said at the time. “If businesses choose to sell military-grade equipment online, they must screen purchasers to prevent arming people like James Holmes.”

But Matsch blasted the Brady Center for using the event — including the court venue that has played host to the alleged killer’s trial — as an opportunity to promote a political agenda.

“Despite their recognition of the relevant legal standards, plaintiffs have not alleged any facts showing that defendants had ‘actual knowledge’ of Holmes’s mental condition or his intentions and have not alleged any facts showing that defendants reasonably should have known anything about Holmes’s purposes in making his online purchases,” Matsch wrote in his ruling.

In the separate order awarding the costs and fees to the defendants, Matsch added this:

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 which counsel should have known would be outside the authority of this court.

… Defeating this action at the threshold was important not only for the continuation of their [Lucky Gunner’s] business model, it avoided the probability of negative publicity attendant to the discovery opportunities available under the procedural rules. Those who ignite a fire should be responsible for the cost of suppressing it before it becomes a conflagration.

Demonstrating a perspective on the role of the courts that sharply contrasts with that of the majority in last week’s major Supreme Court cases, Matsch in his ruling said the plaintiffs were attempting to use the courts to achieve an aim properly delegated to lawmaking bodies.

The stated purpose of this civil action is to obtain a court order enjoining the defendants from conducting their online sales of the products sold to Holmes to protect the public from future harm until and unless they accept changes prescribed by this court. To grant such relief this court must conduct hearings and make policy decisions that are within the authority of the political branches of government responsive to the people under our constitutional structure of representative government. The defendants’ motions to dismiss must be granted because this court does not have the authority to grant the relief requested.

The Brady Center had represented the family of one of the deceased Aurora victims. Lucky Gunner has said it will donate any legal costs it recovers “to 2nd Amendment supporting organizations as voted on by the shooting community.”

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