Everytown Law, University of Michigan Law School, and Bloch & White Announce Lawsuit Against Online Ghost Gun Seller for Illegally and Dangerously Selling Gun Building Kit to 17-Year-Old Too Young to Possess a Pistol

Purchaser Also Named in Lawsuit for Accidentally and Negligently Shooting his Friend with the Weapon

ANN ARBOR, MI – Today, Everytown Law, the litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the University of Michigan Law School, and Bloch & White LLP announced the filing of a lawsuit in Michigan state court on behalf of Guy Boyd against Not an LLC d/b/a JSD Supply (“JSD Supply”), an online ghost gun retailer. Boyd seeks to hold JSD Supply accountable for recklessly selling a gun-building kit to a 17-year old, Kyle Thueme, who then accidentally and negligently shot Boyd in the eye causing devastating injuries. Guy Boyd was only 17 at the time. The lawsuit also seeks to hold the shooter, Kyle Thueme, accountable for his irresponsible behavior. 

For years, JSD Supply has publicly and falsely advertised that its ghost gun kits required no licensing or paperwork and could be owned completely “off the books.” In April 2021, on two separate occasions, JSD Supply sold ghost gun kits to 17-year-old Kyle Thueme, who was too young to legally purchase a firearm because of his age. As alleged in the complaint, JSD Supply completed the sale without conducting any age verification. Less than one month after receiving his second set of ghost gun kits in the mail from JSD Supply, Thueme predictably, tragically, and accidentally shot his then-best friend, Guy Boyd, in the face. Guy Boyd now suffers from devastating, lifelong injuries.

“Not once, but twice, JSD Supply chose to prioritize profits over public safety and common sense by selling ghost gun kits to a teenager,” said Len Hong Kamdang, Senior Director of Litigation Strategy and Trials at Everytown Law. “The tragic shooting of Guy Boyd could have been prevented had JSD Supply operated responsibly. Instead, JSD Supply sold a teenager multiple ghost gun kits without even performing a background check or age verification. JSD’s reckless practices are responsible for placing this gun in the shooter’s hands and allowing this tragedy to occur, and this lawsuit is intended to impose accountability.”

“In filing this lawsuit, Guy Boyd and his family have chosen to channel their pain into action,” said Michael Bloch of Bloch & White LLP. “By holding bad actors in the gun industry like JSD Supply accountable, we hope to prevent future tragedies like this from happening again, because no teenager should be living with the physical repercussions of a gunshot wound.”

“Working with the Boyd family to address this growing threat to our community is an honor,” said Chris Bohórquez of the University of Michigan Law School’s Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic. “I am excited that the Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic is partnering with leading legal experts to provide a unique opportunity for student attorneys to learn how to litigate impact cases of national importance. Gun violence has affected my generation in an unimaginable way and I am proud to have a small role in working toward a safer future.” 

A ghost gun is a do-it-yourself, homemade gun made from easy-to-get building blocks that are often purchased with no background check or age verification and then assembled in less than one hour. The number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement agencies and submitted to the ATF has skyrocketed in recent years – increasing by over 1,000% between 2017 and 2021. The Solicitor General of the United States recently told the Supreme Court that, between March 2023 and July 2023 alone, 13,828 suspected ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement and reported to ATF.  Because ghost guns have no serial numbers, the ATF is able to trace less than 1 percent of these weapons to their original purchasers. Everytown has compiled examples of ghost gun shootings from across the country since 2013, available here. Everytown’s report on ghost guns, featuring testimonials from law enforcement officers, can be found here. In 2022, after the sales at issue in this lawsuit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives finalized a new rule confirming that the sale of gun building kits without a serial number, without a license, and without a background check violates federal law. A federal appeals court in Texas found the Rule invalid, but it has remained in effect pending likely U.S. Supreme Court review next term.

This lawsuit brings one claim against Kyle Thueme, flowing from his accidental and negligent shooting of Guy Boyd with the gun he assembled from the kits JSD Supply sold him, and three claims against JSD Supply, asserting that its deceptive and illegal business practices also caused the shooting of Guy Boyd. Specifically, the complaint alleges that JSD Supply:

• Sold its ghost gun kits to Thueme without verifying his age in any way;
• Entrusted Thueme, then a minor, with its highly dangerous ghost gun kits;
• Knew the dangers and illegality of allowing minors access to guns and ghost gun kits; and
• Deceptively, unfairly, and confusingly marketing its ghost gun kits in a way that induced and allowed Thueme to purchase its ghost gun kits. 

Everytown Law is the largest and most experienced team of litigators in the U.S. working full-time on advancing gun violence prevention in the courts. Everytown Law has been and is involved in several other lawsuits seeking accountability from the gun industry. Current cases include litigation on behalf of the cities of Chicago and Philadelphia against some of the largest suppliers of crime guns into those cities; on behalf of victims of mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Highland Park, and Boulder, CO; and against online ghost gun retailers.

Bloch & White LLP was founded in 2022 and focuses on Civil Rights work through its groundbreaking high-impact cases across the country. 

The Everytown Law team representing the plaintiffs includes Eric Tirschwell, Executive Director and Chief Litigation Counsel; Len Kamdang, Senior Director of Litigation Strategy and Trials; Eugene Nam, Litigation Counsel; Carina Bentata Gryting, Litigation Counsel; and Mollie Krent, Litigation Fellow. Both Len Kamdang and Mollie Krent are University of Michigan Law School Alumni and alumni of the Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic. 

The Bloch & White LLP team includes founding partners Michael Bloch & Ben White as well as associates Cristina Alvarez and Adam Bresgi.

The University of Michigan Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic team includes Clinical Professor David Santacroce and student attorneys Chris Bohórquez and Ashley Munger.

More information regarding the specifics of this case can be found here.