* The Associated Press in 2023…

A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit the city of Chicago filed against a northwestern Indiana store that alleged it sold hundreds of guns in straw purchases that ended up in the hands of felons or at crime scenes in the city.

The city sued Westforth Sports Inc. of Gary in April 2021, alleging the store repeatedly violated federal gun laws and that store owner Earl Westforth ignored warnings from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about suspicious purchases at the store.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Clare Quish dismissed the lawsuit. Straw gun sales refer to those that someone purportedly purchases for their own use but actually are bought for others. […]

In a statement issued after the dismissal, Westforth attorney Timothy Rudd said that the court “properly found that Constitutional due process does not allow an out-of-state firearms retailer to be hauled into court in Illinois unless the claims against it arise out of or relate to the retailer’s own contacts with the state.”

* On Friday, an Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the lawsuit can continue. Tribune…

A panel of Illinois Appellate Court judges last week revived a 2021 lawsuit brought by the city against a now-closed gun shop in Northwest Indiana that allegedly knowingly sold firearms to straw buyers for years. […]

Upon review, a panel of Illinois Appellate Court judges rejected Westforth’s position.

“Based on the record before us, we conclude that Westforth’s extensive and years-long transactions with straw purchasers for sales destined for Illinois were not random, fortuitous, or attenuated,” the judges said. “The City has demonstrated that Westforth knowingly engaged in illegal firearm sales aimed at Illinois and Chicago, a fact Westforth seeks to either downplay or ignore.”

“(L)itigating the case in Illinois promotes judicial efficiency by addressing the issue where the harm occurred while furthering substantive policies against illegal gun sales,” the panel added. “Indiana’s interest does not have the same urgency or impact as Illinois’.”

* From the opinion…

The City counters that Westforth feigned ignorance of trafficking of its firearms. To demonstrate its active complicity in trafficking, the City highlights the store’s history of repeated sales to known straw purchasers that it knew or should have known funneled illegal firearms into Chicago, as evidenced by the former ATF agent’s affidavit. Westforth’s refusal to act, the City asserts, shows a deliberate choice to profit from the illicit firearms market just 10 miles from its front door.

Neither “arising from” nor “related to” demands strict causation or that the defendant’s actions be the sole or exclusive cause of the harm. This permits a broader evaluation of the relationship between the plaintiff’s claims and the defendant’s contacts with the forum state. For example, in Myers v. Casino Queen, Inc., the Eighth Circuit underscored the necessity of a flexible standard that considers the totality of the circumstances when analyzing how the defendant’s conduct relates to the plaintiff’s claims. Similarly, the court asserted that if a defendant’s contacts with the forum state are sufficiently connected to the operative facts of the controversy, the action will be deemed to have arisen from those contacts.[…]

The record demonstrates Westforth was acutely aware of and intended to facilitate trafficking of firearms into Illinois through straw purchasers. Indeed, “arising from” encompasses a defendant deliberately reaching out to the forum state—such as by “ ‘exploi[ting] a market’ ” in that state. By exploiting the illegal firearm market in Chicago, Westforth cemented a strong relationship among itself, Illinois, and the litigation, thereby satisfying the “arising from” requirement.

* National gun violence prevention group Everytown Law…

Today’s opinion sets an important precedent as the first appellate court decision to confirm that cities targeted by out-of-state dealers selling to straw purchasers can sue the bad actors in the impacted cities’ home court. As the appellate court recognized, “the record is replete with evidence that Westforth knew it was operating as a pipeline for illegal weapons into Chicago” and “made a deliberate choice to facilitate and profit from illegal firearm sales destined for Chicago’s streets.”

“As I have said before, we need to end the flow of guns into our neighborhoods that come in through illegal routes,” said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “This decision is a step towards accountability. We will keep fighting until we end the gun violence epidemic in our city.”

“We are grateful that the Illinois Appellate Court has reinstated Chicago’s case against Westforth Sports. The residents of Chicago deserve justice against this large-scale supplier of guns that have been used to wreak havoc on city streets, and we look forward to litigating this case on their behalf,” said Alla Lefkowitz, Managing Director of Affirmative Litigation for Everytown Law. “As alleged in our complaint – and the evidence we presented is damning – Westforth has not only intentionally facilitated illegal gun trafficking, but directly sold illegal firearms to Illinois residents, putting countless local communities in the line of fire. We will fight to hold them accountable for the harm they’ve caused as a byproduct of their greed.”