The dealer (Vintage Firearms) also settled by closing permanently and forgoing future FFLs, showing how even FFL holders can face existential threats from these lawsuits. While the settlement doesn’t directly overturn PLCAA nationwide, it demonstrates how state courts can interpret exceptions narrowly in favor of plaintiffs in anti-gun jurisdictions, creating a patchwork of vulnerability for the industry. Pro-2A folks should view this as part of ongoing efforts to chip away at industry immunities through civil litigation, even post-Bruen and other recent wins on the constitutional front.
Nearly four years after the horrific May 14, 2022 massacre at a Tops Friendly Markets on Jefferson Avenue, a new legal chapter just closed. And it could have serious implications for the firearms industry.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced partial settlements involving magazine-lock manufacturer MEAN LLC, gun dealer Vintage Firearms LLC, and the shooter’s parents. The coordinated resolution includes a $1.75 million payment from MEAN LLC to families and survivors.
As part of the agreement, the company will stop selling its MA Lock device in New York and remove marketing claims suggesting the product made rifles compliant with state law.
According to the Attorney General, the shooter purchased an AR-15-style rifle equipped with the MA Lock, removed it, and installed detachable 30-round magazines in violation of New York’s SAFE Act. Plaintiffs argued that the device was easily removable and that instructions for removal were publicly available.
By News

