Gilbert v. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives

306 F. Supp. 3d 776
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedJanuary 23, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. TDC–15–2127
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 306 F. Supp. 3d 776 (Gilbert v. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilbert v. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, 306 F. Supp. 3d 776 (D. Md. 2018).

Opinion

THEODORE D. CHUANG, United States District Judge

The Gun Control Act of 1968 ("GCA"), Pub. L. No. 90-618, 82 Stat. 1213 (1968), requires any individual seeking to engage in the business of selling firearms to first obtain a Federal Firearms License ("FFL") from the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF"). 18 U.S.C. § 923(a) (2012). Plaintiffs Charles Gilbert and Bryon Gossard, along with limited liability corporations established to operate their various businesses, have filed suit seeking damages for and injunctive relief relating to the ATF's denial of Gossard's FFL application. Plaintiffs assert a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and multiple state law tort claims. Pending before the Court are two Motions to Dismiss, one by Defendants the United States of America, the ATF, and Gretchen Arlington, an ATF investigator (the "Federal Defendants"), and one by Defendants Engage Armament and Andrew Raymond (the "Private Defendants"). Having reviewed the pleadings, briefs, and other submitted materials, the Court finds that no hearing is necessary. See D. Md. Local R. 105.6. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' Motions are GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

Gilbert is the owner of the Gilbert Indoor Range (the "Range"), a members-only shooting range located in Rockville, Maryland. Gilbert is also a former FFL holder whose many GCA violations cost him the ability to sell firearms. His decade-long attempt to regain an FFL, either for himself or for a proxy, is recounted in detail in Gossard v. Fronczak , 206 F.Supp.3d 1053, 1055-56 (D. Md. 2016). This case is one of a long line of legal *781challenges brought by Gilbert in an effort to resuscitate his former firearms dealing business.

In 2008, in an attempt to maneuver around firearms regulations and the ATF's rescission of his businesses' FFLs, Gilbert entered into an agreement with Defendants Raymond and Theodore Sabate, who together owned Engage Armament LLC ("Engage"), a business that customized and sold firearms. Through this agreement, Gilbert would finance the purchase of a firearm for a Range member, then Engage would use its FFL to receive the firearm from the manufacturer or dealer and to host the actual sale of the firearm on its premises. For its participation, Engage would receive a $30.00 transfer fee. Gilbert would receive the rest of the profits. Gilbert also offered a free, week-long membership to the Range to any person who purchased a firearm from Engage.

Meanwhile, also in 2008, Gilbert applied for an FFL in his own name. The ATF denied the application, finding that his businesses' GCA violations should be imputed to him and that Gilbert himself had violated the GCA by selling firearms after his businesses' FFLs had been revoked. Gossard , 206 F.Supp.3d at 1056. On June 6, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed ATF's decision. Gilbert v. Bangs , 481 Fed.Appx. 52, 55 (4th Cir. 2012).

In April 2012, Plaintiff Gossard purchased one of Gilbert's business entities, Gilbert Indoor Range, LLC ("GIR"), for one dollar. Gossard , 206 F.Supp.3d at 1056. Gossard, who had been a Range employee since 2009, also entered into a lease so that GIR could sell firearms at the Range. Two days after the Fourth Circuit affirmed ATF's denial of Gilbert's FFL application, Gossard applied for an FFL on behalf of GIR.

FFL applicants must list on their application all "responsible persons" in their business. Specifically, they must notify the ATF of "any individual possessing, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management, policies, and practices of the corporation, partnership, or association, insofar as they pertain to firearms." Gossard , 206 F.Supp.3d at 1061 (quoting FFL Application Instructions). Willful failure to list a responsible person is grounds for the application's denial. 18 U.S.C. § 923(d)(1)(D) ; 27 C.F.R. § 478.47(b)(4) (2016) ; see Mew Sporting Goods, LLC v. Johansen , 992 F.Supp.2d 665, 678 (N.D. W. Va. 2014). Gossard's FFL application did not name Gilbert as a responsible person for GIR.

Defendant Arlington was the ATF Industry Operations Investigator charged with investigating Gossard's application. On November 16, 2012, she gave what Gossard thought was verbal approval of the application. Gossard immediately alerted the Range's customers that he was now able to sell firearms. He also told Raymond about the FFL approval. Plaintiffs have not alleged that they expended any money or entered into any transactions based on Arlington's statement.

The anticipated FFL approval was not forthcoming. The same day that Arlington spoke with Gossard, Raymond contacted ATF to accuse Gossard of being a straw applicant for Gilbert and a marijuana user. Ultimately, on August 26, 2013, ATF denied Gossard's application on the grounds that he had not disclosed Gilbert as a responsible person and had engaged in unlawful drug use. Gossard , 206 F.Supp.3d at 1058. "Immediately after" Gossard received the denial, Raymond contacted Gilbert, informed him of Gossard's alleged drug use, and admitted that it was he who had spoken to ATF about Gossard's application. Am. Compl. ¶ 78, ECF No. 56-1.

*782"It was at this time" that Gilbert "realized" that Raymond, Sabate, Engage, and ATF were conspiring against him. Id. ¶ 79.

Gossard appealed the denial of his FFL application. After an administrative hearing, ATF issued a Final Notice affirming its decision on January 20, 2015. On March 24, 2015, Gossard filed a petition in this Court to contest that decision. On June 30, 2016, this Court upheld the ATF's denial of the application on the basis that Gossard had willfully omitted material information from his application. Gossard

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306 F. Supp. 3d 776, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilbert-v-us-bureau-of-alcohol-tobacco-firearms-explosives-mdd-2018.