State of Minnesota v. Fleet Farm LLC

Background

Minnesota sued Fleet Farm LLC, Fleet Farm Group LLC, and Fleet Farm Wholesale Supply Co. LLC, collectively called Fleet Farm, alleging that Fleet Farm illegally and negligently sold firearms to straw purchasers. The original complaint asserted negligence, negligence per se, negligent entrustment, aiding and abetting, and public nuisance claims.

Minnesota moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2) for permission to file a First Amended Complaint. The proposed amendment would add a claim under the Minnesota Gun Control Act, brought under the Minnesota attorney general’s authority in Minnesota Statute § 8.31, subdivision 1. It would also add requests for civil penalties and for costs and fees under § 8.31, subdivisions 3 and 3a, relating to alleged violations of the Gun Control Act and Minnesota’s public nuisance statute.

Legal Standard

A court should generally allow an amended complaint when justice requires, but it may deny permission for reasons including undue delay, bad faith, prejudice, or futility. An amendment is futile if the proposed complaint could not survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a plausible claim. At this stage, the court accepts the complaint’s factual allegations as true and views them in the plaintiff’s favor.

Court’s Analysis

The court held that Minnesota Statute § 8.31, subdivision 1, is unambiguous. That provision authorizes the attorney general to investigate and help enforce violations of Minnesota law involving “unfair, discriminatory, and other unlawful practices in business, commerce, or trade.” The court concluded that this broad language can include the alleged unlawful sale of firearms.

The court also found that the proposed claim was plausible on its face. The Minnesota Gun Control Act prohibits transferring a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to a person who made a false statement to become a transferee when the transferor knows or has reason to know of the false statement. The court found that Fleet Farm had not shown that such a transfer could not legally qualify as an unlawful business practice.

The court rejected Fleet Farm’s argument that § 8.31 is limited to consumer-protection matters or civil causes of action. Relying in part on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision in Findling v. Group Health Plan, Inc., the court stated that § 8.31 does not limit the attorney general’s authority to fraud-related or consumer-protection matters.

For the same reason, the court found that Minnesota’s proposed requests for civil penalties and costs and fees were not futile.

Disposition

The court GRANTED Minnesota’s Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint. Minnesota must file the First Amended Complaint within seven days.

Judge Identification Note

The supplied case information identifies Judge John Tunheim, but the opinion is signed by John F. Docherty, United States Magistrate Judge. This summary uses the judge identified in the signed order.