From Monday's decision in Webber v. Armslist LLC, decided by the Seventh Circuit in an opinion by Judge Michael Brennan, joined by Judges Joel Flaum and Michael Scudder:
Erin Bauer and Richard Webber are the legal representatives and family members of two individuals killed using guns that had been listed on armslist.com, an online firearms marketplace. Bauer and Webber each sued Armslist LLC …, alleging negligence and other Wisconsin state law claims. The plaintiffs assert that the defendants designed the website to encourage and assist individuals in circumventing federal and state law regulating firearms. The defendants argue that the plaintiffs have failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because publishing third-party offers to sell firearms does not establish tort or other liability under Wisconsin law.
Because we affirm on the state law claims, we decline to rule on the [§ 230] preemption issue….
Armslist.com is an online marketplace for firearms…. Armslist LLC is not engaged in the business of selling firearms. Rather, its website hosts "for sale" and "want to buy" ads posted by users….
The plaintiffs level serious accusations against the defendants. They allege that armslist.com allows individuals to engage in the business of selling firearms without a license and to circumvent federal and state law governing firearms dealers, including avoiding background checks. The defendants purportedly accomplished this through design and content features. Among these are choosing to label purchases and sales as private party transactions by default. The plaintiffs also claim that armslist.com allows users to filter listings to identify private party sellers. This "filter function" allegedly facilitates the private sale of firearms without background checks to individuals prohibited from possessing firearms.
The plaintiffs also contend the defendants provided certain assurances that enabled both buyers and sellers to operate anonymously, including that:
