MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A gun store must defend itself against claims it assembled a gun incorrectly even after the gun’s owner, once also a defendant in the case, destroyed evidence at the center of the lawsuit and entered into a settlement shifting all remaining liability to the store, a Wisconsin appeals court ruled.
The fact the plaintiff and gun owner were brothers didn’t affect the appeals court’s analysis of the situation.
Tyler Mueller sued Bull’s Eye Sports Shop after an AR-15 he borrowed from his brother Jordan accidentally discharged in November 2017, severely injuring his foot. Police immediately impounded the gun. A week later, Tyler texted his brother, saying if the police returned the gun, “don’t use it or clean it or anything, just put it in your cabinet, cause if we go after bullseye for it that will void everything.”