Washington, D.C., Nov. 27, 2023 – Family members of Charles Carver, Johnny Coxie and Meagan Coxie have reached a substantial settlement agreement after years of litigation with Academy Sports + Outdoors, one of the nation's largest gun dealers. The gun dealer agreed to a settlement of over 2.4 million dollars with Carver and Coxies’ families.
Erin Davis, Brady’s Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation, said:
“If it wasn’t for Academy Sports + Outdoors’s negligent practices, Charles Carver and Johnny and Meagan Coxie may still be alive today. Most gun dealers follow established laws and industry best practices that keep guns out of the wrong hands, but sadly, some dealers like Academy Sports have put profits over lives, and that too often costs people their lives.
“This settlement sends a clear message to members of the gun industry that if they choose to participate in negligent and unlawful business practices, they will be held accountable.”
In December of 2015, Johnny and Meagan Coxie went missing and in August of 2016 Charles Carver also disappeared. They were later found murdered on the property of Todd Kohlhepp, who confessed to murdering them with one of the many guns Academy Sports + Outdoors sold to a straw purchaser who was supplying Kohlhepp. Academy Sports + Outdoors chose to sell twelve firearms in ten different transactions to a straw purchaser who supplied Kohlhepp with the weapons. Dustan Lawson acted as Kohlhepp’s straw purchaser, and later pleaded guilty to illegally supplying Todd Kohlhepp with firearms.
In 2018 and 2019, on behalf of the Carver and Coxie’s families, Brady and its partners – Mary Schiavo of Motley Rice, David Standeffer of Standeffer Law, LLC and Mills Ariail of the Law Office of R. Mills Ariail, Jr. – filed suit in South Carolina against Academy Sports, alleging that the company negligently sold to Dustin Lawson leading to the death of Johnny Coxie and Todd Kohlhepp's other victims.
Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.
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