Gun company can sue Grewal in Texas, federal appellate court rules

New Jersey attorney general sought to block company that sold plans to print firearms on 3-D printer

By David Wildstein, August 19 2020 9:37 pm

A company that provides plans for 3-D printed firearms can sue New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in a Texas court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled today.

Grewal moved to block the Austin-based Defense Distributed from selling computer files that allowed consumers to create fully operational firearms using a 3-D printer by sending the company a cease-and-desist letter that threatened legal action if they continued to market the product.

The company mounted a legal challenge against Grewal in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas alleging that New Jersey’s top law enforcement official violated their First and Second Amendment rights by threatening them with criminal sanctions at a 2018 press conference and asking third-party internet service providers in California to terminate their contracts with Defense Distributed. New Jersey had also initiated a civil lawsuit against the company in New Jersey.

The Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that backed up Grewal’s claim that he wasn’t subject to jurisdiction of Texas courts.

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