In Sheriff Deputies v. Ghost Gun Manufacturer, Sara Peters, Spencer Pahlke and Richard Schoenberger represented two law enforcement officers ambushed by a gunman. The gunman, a convicted felon, was legally barred from gun ownership and could not buy a gun through normal means, so instead obtained a “ghost gun.” Ghost guns are sold without serial numbers or background checks, relying on a loophole in gun laws that allow sales of gun kits provided they are not “complete” guns. With a kit and simple tools, anyone—a felon, a child, anyone—could turn a kit into an operational handgun. The gunman shot the deputies repeatedly. Miraculously they did not suffer fatal injuries. After extensive litigation, including motion practice relating to whether the manufacturer was immunized by federal gun laws, the matter resolved short of trial for the manufacturer’s insurance policy limits of $1,000,000. This resolution, and other related litigation and advocacy, has helped change the practices of this firearm manufacturer and led the Biden Administration to issue regulations banning ghost guns.
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