Appellate court: Tops shooting victims can sue MEAN LLC

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- It was one step forward, one step back on Friday in the legal fights for some families of the Tops mass shooting victims.

A ruling from the state's Supreme Court of the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department affirmed claims against MEAN Arms LLC -- the maker of the gun accessory that is alleged to have helped the Tops gunman to access and use an illegal assault weapon at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue in May 2022.

"We conclude that the allegations made by the relevant plaintiffs are sufficient to withstand CPLR 3211 dismissal," the court said. "As stated above, plaintiffs all alleged that MEAN violated New York law by manufacturing a lock that was removable, thereby posing a danger to the general public, and that plaintiffs or their relatives were injured by the firearm from which the lock was removed."

"With respect to the causation element ... we reject MEAN's contention that it is entitled to dismissal at this stage. It is too early to determine as a matter of law whether 'only one conclusion can be drawn' on the issue of causation."

Civil claims against platforms like Google, Meta, and YouTube, however, were dismissed by the court.

Some of the families say that social media is partly to blame for the deaths of their loved ones, arguing that the gunman was radicalized by white supremacist theories he found on certain platforms.

Attorney John Elmore, who represents some of the victims' families, told WIVB News 4 the following statement: "We are reviewing the decision, discussing options with our litigation team and clients," Elmore said. "There are two very strong dissenting opinions that are in complete agreement with the lower court opinion and our legal arguments. Further, we have a solid win against Mean Arms."