Court Gives Green Light To Lawsuit Against Gun Shop That Armed Trolley Square Shooter

Feb 23, 2009

Salt Lake City, UT - Utah Third Judicial District Court Judge Glenn Iwasaki has ruled that a lawsuit against pawn shop Sportsman’s Fastcash may proceed to trial.  The suit charges that the pawn shop illegally sold a pistol grip shotgun to Trolley Square shooter Sulejman Talovic.

The court denied the pawn shop’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Carolyn Tuft, rejecting claims by Sportsman’s Fastcash that its sale was legal.  As described in the complaint, Tuft was shot and wounded and her 15-year-old daughter was killed on February 12, 2007, with a gun the pawn shop sold to Talovic in violation of federal and state gun laws.

“Gun dealers that illegally sell dangerous weapons to dangerous people must be held accountable for their unlawful conduct,” stated Daniel Vice, Senior Attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which represents Carolyn Tuft pro bono in the case, along with Mark Williams of the Salt Lake City firm Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, P.C.  Mark Williams added, “We are pleased that the court rejected the pawn shop’s attempt to deny Carolyn Tuft her day in court.”

Federal gun laws prohibit gun dealers from selling pistol grip shotguns to anyone under 21 because of the special danger these weapons pose to the public.  The lawsuit charges that Sportsman’s Fastcash illegally sold Sulejman Talovic a pistol grip shotgun even though Talovic informed the shop that he was only 18 years old.  ATF has repeatedly warned gun dealers that it is illegal to sell pistol grip shotguns “to any person less than 21 years of age.”  The suit also charges that the pawn shop failed to comply with laws requiring additional documentation from resident alien gun buyers.

The court ruling today follows rulings in other cases that have allowed cases against gun sellers who supply firearms to criminals to proceed to trial.  More than a dozen courts in recent years have denied motions by gun sellers to dismiss cases seeking to hold them liable for supplying guns to criminals or dangerous persons.  In cases brought by the Brady Center’s Legal Action Project, the Center’s attorneys have recovered over $4.4 million in damages for gun violence victims against irresponsible gun dealers and manufacturers.

This lawsuit, Tuft v. Rocky Mountain Enterprises, was filed in the Third Judicial District Court in Salt Lake County on February 8, 2008.  Rocky Mountain Enterprises is a Nevada corporation doing business in Utah as pawn shop Sportsman’s Fastcash.

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