Connecticut Court Declines $7.7 Million Penalty Against Florida Ghost-Gun Seller
A Connecticut Superior Court judge ruled that the state cannot impose a $7.7 million civil fine on Indie Guns LLC for alleged deceptive advertising of ghost-gun parts on its website.
In State v. Indie Guns LLC, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Daniel Klau concluded that the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act does not extend to out-of-state entities whose only alleged wrongdoing is website advertising. The Attorney General had pursued a maximum civil penalty of $5,000 per day for 1,539 days, amounting to $7,695,000, citing one sale of ghost-gun components to an undercover agent. The court acknowledged the sale but emphasized that the penalty request rested on the website’s content, which the statute does not cover when the seller operates from another state.
Indie Guns LLC, a Florida limited liability company, is not registered in Connecticut, and its owner Lawrence DeStefano’s provocative social-media posts were ruled protected by the First Amendment and not a basis for CUTPA liability. The decision underscores the geographic limits of Connecticut’s consumer-protection law and leaves the state unable to levy the sought penalty on foreign online sellers.
Why it matters
The ruling limits Connecticut's ability to penalize out-of-state online sellers for ads deemed deceptive under state law.
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