BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — A judge ruled a Tops mass shooting lawsuit against several social media platforms can move forward. The civil suit was filed by the 10 families who lost loved ones and survivors in that racially motivated attack back in May of 2022.
“The lawsuit that we filed is the first of its kind in the nation to hold social media platforms for a mass shooting,” explained John Elmore, attorney.
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“This decision is critical. This decision is everything,” declared Kristen Elmore-Garcia, attorney.
The father-daughter legal team of John Elmore and Kristen Elmore-Garcia in Buffalo is fighting for justice for some of the families impacted by the mass shooting at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue.
On Monday they learned that a State Supreme Court Justice Paula Feroleto denied several social media giants' requests to dismiss the lawsuit against them.
“It’s a very narrow question the judge had to answer which was, is there any sort of legal theory that she can pull together that makes sense out of our complaint? I think we had a very thorough complaint; she's not going to have to look very far to find those legal theories against these major social media companies that will eventually stand up,” described Elmore-Garcia.
The social media companies include YouTube, Reddit, and Discord.
“We had a very unique lawsuit where we did not sue the social media platforms based upon the speech that was said, but we sued them on manufacturing design or product design that they're a dangerous product,” remarked Elmore.
"Not only the content that they quote unquote, users put out there but the actual product design that encourages these doctrines and ideologies to flourish,” noted Elmore-Garcia.
I caught up with the law team at their Buffalo offices on Tuesday. Elmore-Garcia said she argued some of the points with other attorneys representing family members.
Father-daughter law team John Elmore & Kristen Elmore Garcia submitted paperwork after a judge denied several social media giants request to dismiss the Tops mass shooting lawsuit against them: “This decision is critical. This decision is everything,” says Elmore Garcia. @WKBW pic.twitter.com/mm9wjmcOcl
— Eileen Buckley (@eileenwkbw) March 19, 2024
“I took part in arguing three specific parts of this major motion, which would be against the platforms, Reddit, Discord, and 4chan, which are all maybe in the overall scheme of things, the slightly less popular platforms for the general population, but by no accounts would they be considered fringe platforms are all very mainstream and some of the most violent and in critical planning measures took place on those platforms,” Elmore-Garcia commented.
They say the social media platforms catered to Tops shooter, Payton Gendron’s racist ideologies.
“He was motivated. He learned all of these theories basically on the social media platforms,” Elmore said.
Reddit and Google/YouTube told me they will “appeal” the decision. The social media companies also provide the following statements:
"Hate and violence have no place on Reddit. Our sitewide policies [redditinc.com] explicitly prohibit content that promotes hate based on identity or vulnerability, as well as content that encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm against an individual or group of people. We are constantly evaluating ways to improve our detection and removal of this content, including through enhanced image-hashing systems, and we will continue to review the communities on our platform to ensure they are upholding our rules."
Reddit spokesperson
“We have the deepest sympathies for the victims and families of the horrific attack at Tops grocery store in Buffalo last year. Through the years, YouTube has invested in technology, teams, and policies to identify and remove extremist content. While we disagree with today's decision and will be appealing, we will continue to work with law enforcement, other platforms, and civil society to share intelligence and best practices."
José Castañeda, YouTube Spokesperson
“Hopefully the judge will allow us to proceed to the discovery phase while those appeals are pending. we don't want to waste any time we're ready for the next stage,” responded Elmore-Garcia.
For now, the attorneys tell me Monday’s decision was a moment of joy for the families they represent.
"Having a victory is one of those small moments of joy,” replied Elmore-Garcia.
“It's a beacon of hope. I think there's a sense that something has to change,” Elmore stated.
