Gun Dealer Defaults in New York Gun Suit
A federal judge has granted New York’s motion for a default judgment in a public nuisance suit against a Georgia gun dealer.
U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein ruled after the lawyer for defendant Adventure Outdoors said his client could not afford to go to trial, the New York Law Journal reports. The lawyer, John Renzulli, said he would like to withdraw from the case.
“Unlike the city, which can spend unlimited amounts of the taxpayers’ money, Adventure Outdoors is a small retail dealer with limited resources and cannot afford to participate in a four-week bench trial, the result of which is a foregone conclusion,” Renzulli wrote in his motion.
Lawyers for the city said they would seek a judgment similar to 20 settlements reached with other gun dealers, the story says. They allow a special master to oversee their business and agree to stop selling guns to straw purchasers.
Besides the 20 settlements and the Adventure Outdoors default, there have been two other defaults, according to the New York Law Journal. Three defendants won dismissals and another is facing a September trial.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the development “an important victory for New Yorkers, as good as a win at trial, and a validation of our innovative efforts to hold gun dealers accountable for following federal laws,” the New York Times reports.
