Everytown Law Announces Partial Settlements in Buffalo Mass Shooting Litigation

NEW YORK – Everytown Law, along with Bonner & Bonner and the Ryder Law Firm, today announced that the survivors of the racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops Friendly Markets store in Buffalo reached three settlement agreements with four defendants: magazine-lock manufacturer MEAN LLC, gun dealer Vintage Firearms LLC, and the shooter’s parents. 

Pursuant to the settlements with Everytown’s clients and other plaintiffs, MEAN LLC has agreed to pay $1.75 million to family members and survivors. Pursuant to a companion settlement entered into by the New York Attorney General, MEAN LLC has also agreed to take specific actions with respect to its sales and marketing of the MA Lock – a magazine lock that was easily removed by the shooter. Those actions include removing statements from its website regarding the lock’s ability to render a firearm compliant with New York law, as well as ceasing all direct sales of the MA Lock to consumers or dealers located in New York.

“Today’s announcement should send a strong message to the gun industry in particular: gun safety laws like New York’s assault weapons ban are not inconveniences to be circumvented for profit,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director of Everytown Law. “We applaud our clients for bravely turning their grief and trauma into action; by demanding accountability, they’ve fought to ensure that what happened here in Buffalo never happens again.”

“The shooter inflicted the death and trauma at the scale he did because he was able to reload his weapon with speed and ease,” said Cabral Bonner, Law Offices of Bonner & Bonner. “This settlement demonstrates that the gun industry can be held to account and it offers a blueprint for how litigation can vindicate the purpose of smart gun laws intended to reduce a firearm’s capacity for mass harm.”

On May 14, 2022, a gunman, using an illegal assault weapon with removable large-capacity magazines, opened fire at a Tops Friendly Markets store, killing 10 people, wounding three others, and traumatizing countless more. The gunman specifically targeted the store because it is located in a predominantly Black community. 

The settlements cover claims brought by Wayne Jones, the son of Celestine Chaney, one of ten individuals murdered in the shooting, and dozens of survivors who suffered lasting trauma, in lawsuits brought by Everytown Law, Bonner & Bonner, and the Ryder Law Firm. The settlements also cover claims brought by plaintiffs in four other cases involving family members of the nine other individuals who died in the shooting as well as additional survivors. The plaintiffs expect that the settlements will be finalized after court approval is obtained.

As part of a coordinated settlement, the New York Attorney General has also resolved her claims against MEAN LLC. The settlement with the shooter’s parents will also provide funds to be allocated to family members and survivors. Vintage Firearms has permanently closed and its owner has agreed to refrain from obtaining a federal firearms license in the future.

The settlement agreement with MEAN LLC comes after the Appellate Division, Fourth Department in Rochester, New York, last year issued a decision allowing survivors to proceed with their cases. The appellate court’s decision in the MEAN LLC appeal upheld the February 2024 decision of a lower court rejecting arguments that the defendant was protected from being held legally accountable by the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). 

Everytown Law began working on the issue as details emerged following the shooting, when Everytown identified and investigated Mean’s easy-to-remove lock that facilitated the Buffalo shooter in acquiring and then using an AR-15 assault rifle with a removable 30-round magazine. Everytown’s partnership with the New York Attorney General’s Office led to the first lawsuit to hold Mean Arms accountable, filed on the one year anniversary of the shooting, and then was followed by multiple private lawsuits naming Mean as well.

As part of the resolution of Plaintiffs’ claims against Vintage Firearms, its former owner stated: “As a former firearms dealer who was licensed by the federal government and the State of New York, I understand that dealers play a critical role in preventing firearms from ending up in the hands of dangerous individuals. Had I known about the shooter’s plans, I would never have sold him the rifle he used to commit the horrific tragedy on May 14, 2022 in Buffalo. I also would never have sold a rifle with an MA Lock had I known that a purchaser could remove the MA Lock with a speed out drill. I extend my deepest sympathies to the victims, families and community members who suffered as a result of what happened that day.”

The lawsuits named several other defendants, who are not included in today’s settlement agreement:

• RMA Armament Inc., the company that manufactured and sold the shooter the combat-grade body armor that emboldened him and protected him from defensive fire during the massacre. This case is in discovery and ongoing. 

• YouTube LLC (and its parent companies Alphabet Inc. and Google LLC) and Reddit Inc. for their roles in addicting and radicalizing the Buffalo mass shooter. In July, 2025, the Appellate Division, Fourth Department dismissed these claims, citing the broad protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In the process, the divided appellate court overruled the Erie County Supreme Court, which had previously refused to dismiss claims against the social media companies. The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, will hear arguments later this year on whether those claims may proceed. 

Everytown Law is the largest and most experienced team of litigators in the U.S. working to advance gun violence prevention in the courts. Everytown Law is counsel in several other lawsuits seeking accountability from gun sellers and manufacturers in the wake of mass shootings, including: lawsuits filed by families of victims of the Robb Elementary mass shooting; lawsuits filed by survivors of the Highland Park shooting; a lawsuit arising out of the King Soopers mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado; and a settled lawsuit filed by the family of a 17-year-old exchange student killed in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in 2018.

The Everytown Law team representing the plaintiffs includes Eric Tirschwell, Executive Director and Chief Litigation Counsel; Alison Barnes, Director of Affirmative Litigation; and Aaron Esty, Senior Counsel.

The Law Offices of Bonner & Bonner is a firm committed to combating injustice, providing exceptional representation, and securing rightful compensation for their clients. A. Cabral Bonner represents the plaintiffs here.

The Ryder Law Firm is a civil rights firm based in Syracuse, New York, that passionately serves the needs of injury victims throughout the state of New York and the nation. Jesse Ryder, principal of the Ryder Law Firm, represents the plaintiffs as well.