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A SHOOTER WEARING BODY ARMOR OPENED FIRE AT A BUFFALO GROCERY STORE KILLING TEN AND INJURING MANY OTHERS; THE COMPLAINT ALLEGED THE BODY ARMOR ALLOWED THE SHOOTER TO KILL THE SECURITY GUARD WHICH LEFT THE SHOPPERS UNPROTECTED; THE ISSUE IS WHETHER NEW YORK HAS LONG-ARM JURISDICTION OVER THE MANUFACTURER OF THE BODY ARMOR AND TWO INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS; PLAINTIFFS’ ALLEGATIONS WERE SUFFICIENT TO WARRANT JURISDICTIONAL DISCOVERY; THE COMPLAINT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiffs were entitled to jurisdictional discovery to determine whether New York has long-arm jurisdiction over two individual employees of RMA, Waldrop and Clark, which sells body armor. An 18-year-old man committed a racially motivated mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, killing ten people and injuring many others. The complaint alleges that the body armor protected the shooter, allowing him to kill the security guard and shoot more people inside and outside the store:

…  “[I]n order to defeat a motion to dismiss based upon lack of personal jurisdiction, a plaintiff need only demonstrate that facts may exist to exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant[s]” … . We agree with plaintiffs that they have set forth a “sufficient start” … to show that their position is not ” ‘frivolous’ ” … . …

… With respect to Waldrop, plaintiffs allege that he was intimately involved in the daily operations of RMA, was involved in developing the body armor used by the shooter, and was directly involved in the marketing and sales of that body armor. They also allege that he chose to allow the sale of body armor to civilians, i.e., non-military and non-law enforcement personnel, or was “deliberately indifferent” to such sales, and that he knew RMA body armor was being marketed to and sold in New York. We conclude that those allegations are sufficient to warrant discovery on the matter of personal jurisdiction vis-à-vis Waldrop … . …

With respect to Clark, plaintiffs allege that he, personally, marketed the body armor to, and communicated directly with, the shooter, encouraging him to purchase the body armor, either knowing or having reason to know that the shooter was a civilian. Plaintiffs further allege that, as a result of that individual conduct, Clark knew that RMA’s body armor was being sold to civilians in New York, presenting grave risks to New York residents. We thus likewise conclude that plaintiffs’ allegations are sufficient to warrant discovery on the matter of personal jurisdiction vis-à-vis Clark … . Salter v Meta Platforms, Inc., 2025 NY Slip Op 03896, Fourth Dept 6-27-25

Practice Point: Consult this decision for a concise explanation of New York’s long-arm jurisdiction and the criteria for jurisdictional discovery.

 

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