Federal court upholds Attorney General Keith Ellison's lawsuit against Fleet Farm
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A federal court denied Fleet Farm's motion to dismiss Attorney General Keith Ellison's 2022 lawsuit, alleging the store negligently sold guns used in a deadly Saint Paul Shooting.
In October 2022, Ellison sued Fleet Farm for five claims related to the repeated sales of firearms to straw purchasers -- people who illegally purchase guns for others who cannot legally purchase guns themselves.
RELATED: AG Ellison's lawsuit alleges Fleet Farm negligently sold firearms that ended up trafficked
The lawsuit alleged that Fleet Farm negligently sold firearms to straw purchasers, aided and abetted criminals, and contributed to gun trafficking in Minnesota.
Two straw purchasers who bought guns at Fleet Farm have been convicted of federal crimes related to their illegal purchases.
Fleet Farm had sold at least 37 firearms to these two straw purchasers over the course of 16 months, often selling multiple guns in a single transaction.
One of the guns Fleet Farm sold to a straw purchaser was involved in a large-scale, deadly shooting outside a Saint Paul bar on Oct. 10, 2021. A 27-year-old woman was killed in the shootout, and multiple bystanders were injured.
Another gun sold to straw purchasers by Fleet Farm was found by a 6-year-old boy in front of his family's home, where the gun was likely ditched by suspects fleeing the scene.
RELATED: How is a gun retailer supposed to stop straw purchases?
Most guns Fleet Farm sold to straw purchasers remain unrecovered.
According to a press releases from Ellison's office, "the lawsuit seeks to hold Fleet Farm accountable and obtain injunctive relief, including strengthened oversight of Fleet Farm's operations and increased training to prevent sales to straw purchasers, as well as monetary relief, including disgorgement of Fleet Farm profits from sales to straw purchasers."
On Tuesday, Judge Tunheim found that all of the State's claims were properly pled and not barred by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
"The Court's decision that the State's lawsuit against Fleet Farm should proceed is an important step toward ensuring gun dealers are held accountable when they look the other way while selling to straw buyers. It also sends a clear message that federal law should not — and does not — shield gun dealers from liability if they ignore obvious red flags and sell to straw purchasers," Attorney General Ellison said. "While the Ramsey County Attorney has criminally prosecuted the perpetrators of the Truck Stop shooting that involved a gun straw-purchased at Fleet Farm, I am using the tools of civil law and my Office to further protect the public from illegally obtained firearms that are used to commit crimes or end up in the hands of people who aren't allowed to have guns. We now move to discovery to uncover everything that Fleet Farm knew about these straw purchasers and what Fleet Farm did — if anything — to keep the public from being harmed by these purchases."
Judge Tunheim also found that it was appropriate for the State's lawsuit to proceed in federal court.
NOTE: The original air date of the video attached to this article was October 5, 2022.