Paladino Gun Lawsuit
Paladino Gun Lawsuit
CARL PALADINO,
10 ELLICOTT SQUARE COURT CORPORATION
d/b/a ELLICOTT DEVELOPMENT CO.,
vs. COMPLAINT
Jury Trial Demanded
KEVIN P. BRUERN,
IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY SUPERINTENDENT
OF THE NEW YORK STATE POLICE,
JOHN C. GARCIA, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY
SHERIFF OF ERIE COUNTY,
JOHN GRAMAGLIA , IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY
BUFFALO POLICE HEADQUARTERS,
Defendant.
The above-captioned Plaintiffs (“Plaintiffs”), on their own behalf and on behalf of all
similarly situated New Yorkers, by and through the undersigned attorneys, file this
capacities as state and local officials responsible under the law of the State of New
York (“New York” or “State”) for enforcing the State’s laws and regulations governing
the public carrying of firearms. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief in
relation to Section 5 of Chapter 371 of the Laws of New York 2022 (“Section 5”), which
to bear arms for self-defense ever adopted by a state legislature. Section 5 acts to
preclude all law-abiding New Yorkers from carrying any firearm, regardless of
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whether such a firearm is carried concealed or openly, on all private property in New
York State without the prior permission of the owner or lessee of each property.
Carry Licensees1 from carrying their concealed handguns on private property without
First, Second, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
follows:
INTRODUCTION
“the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.” U.S. Const. amend. II. This
2. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen (“Bruen”), the
accurate copy of the Supreme Court’s June 23, 2022, Slip Opinion in Bruen is attached
hereto as Exhibit A.
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abiding citizens have a . . . right to carry handguns publicly for self-defense.” Slip
Opinion at p.1.
4. The Supreme Court also held that “[t]he constitutional right to bear
different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.’” Id. at p.62.
provided by the Second Amendment, New York recently adopted Penal Law 265.01-
d. See N.Y. L 2022, ch 371, § 5. A true and accurate copy of Chapter 371 of the New
York Laws of 2022 (“Chapter 371”) is attached here to as Exhibit B. A true and
accurate of the Sponsor’s Memorandum of the bill which became Chapter 371 is
the right to self-defense among the many infringements contained in Chapter 371.
Handgun Carry Licensees from carrying a concealed handgun on all private property
in the State.
self-defense so that this right is only effective when New Yorkers are on their own
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10. Plaintiffs seek remedies under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1651, 2201, and 2202; 42
U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988; and/or Rules 57 and 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
11. This suit is authorized by law to redress deprivations under color of state
law of rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the First, Second, Fifth and
Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and for declaratory and
12. Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) and/or (c) as, as
the various acts complained will occur, and various Plaintiffs and Defendants are
PARTIES
13. Plaintiff Carl Paladino (“Paladino) is a citizen of the United States and
a resident and citizen of the State of New York, with a residence at 272 Potters Road,
14. Paladino is the holder of New York State Handgun Carry License issued
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private property in New York State, and would do so, if Section 5 had not been
enacted.
of owning and operating private properties in New York State, including but not
limited to, the Ellicott Square Building, which is located at 295 Main Street, Buffalo,
their concealed firearms at its properties, including at the Ellicott Square Building,
so.
19. Defendant Kevin P. Bruen is the Superintendent of the New York State
duties of the New York Division of State Police, which is responsible for executing
and enforcing New York’s laws and regulations governing the carrying of firearms in
20. Defendant John C. Garcia is the Sheriff of Erie County, New York. As
Erie County Sheriff, he exercises, delegates, or supervises all the powers and duties
of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for executing and enforcing
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New York’s laws and regulations governing the carrying of firearms in public,
supervises all the powers and duties of the City of Buffalo, which is responsible for
executing and enforcing New York’s laws and regulations governing the carrying of
firearms in public, including Section 5, within the territorial boundaries of the City
of Buffalo.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
22. New York law generally forbids any person to “possess[ ] any firearm,”
N.Y. Penal Law § 265.01(1), without first obtaining “a license therefor,” id. §
$5,000 or between one- and fifteen-years imprisonment. Id. §§ 70.00(2)(c) & (3)(b),
80.00(1), 265.03.
handgun outside the home for purposes of self-protection can only do so if he or she
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25. On July 1, 2022, New York State adopted Chapter 371 as law after the
bill which became Chapter 371 passed both houses of the New York State Legislature
wherein the carrying of firearms is prohibited, including schools and polling places.
Unless one of the limited exceptions applies (e.g. for retired police officers, security
29. Just like Section 4 of Chapter 371, Section 5 only contains limited
“restricted location.”
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than the exception that Section 5 would not apply to Paladino when he is lawfully
31. Specifically, Section 5 does not include any exception for Handgun Carry
Licensees.
right to carry a concealed handgun when not engaged in such hunting activities.
33. In Section 5, New York attempts to nullify the Supreme Court’s decision
in Bruen.
34. As a result of Bruen, all New Yorker’s with duly issued Handgun Carry
Licenses were permitted to carry their concealed handguns publicly for self-defense
purposes.
35. Section 5 acts to prohibit Handgun Carry Licensees from carrying their
lawfully licensed individual carrying a concealed weapon must first obtain the
constitutional right requires that such prior consent be obtained from another citizen
property is not absolute, such a prohibition is the “default setting” of this law.
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38. In order for a Handgun Carry Licensee to be able to legally carry his or
her concealed firearm on private property, Section 5 requires that the owner or lessee
of such private property post “clear and conspicuous signage indicating that the
guaranteed right into a right that New Yorkers may only exercise after they receive
40. Indeed, the practical effect of Section 5 is to subject New Yorkers’ Second
41. Under Section 5, a property owner or lessee that does not wish to limit
43. It would not be constitutional for New York State to presumptively strip
New Yorkers of their other constitutional rights whenever they are on private
property.
44. For example, it would not be constitutional for New York State to
prohibit New Yorkers from advocating for lawful political change on private property
unless the owner/lessee of such property posted signage or otherwise gave New
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45. Nor would it not be constitutional for New York State to require that a
New Yorkers could advocate for lawful political change on such private property.
strip New Yorkers of their right to armed self-defense on all private property in the
47. Nor is it constitutional for New York State to compel private property
Yorkers are allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights on such private
property.
48. The Second Amendment forbids New York the power to decide, on a
case-by-case basis, whether or not a Handgun Carry Licensee may carry a concealed
weapon on private property unless such private property is a “sensitive place.” See
Bruen, Slip Opinion at p.14; see also Heller, 554 U. S., at 634 (“[T]he very enumeration
of the right takes out of the hands of government—even the Third Branch of
case basis with a prohibition that universally limits Second Amendment rights unless
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because this restriction is not imposed on a case-by-case basis, but is, instead, subject
to a case-by-case exceptions.
New Yorkers’ rights to armed self-defense be specifically enumerated, with each such
52. Moreover, isolated historical precedents cannot provide a basis for such
similar to historical precedents that were widely accepted in the United States at the
time of the ratification of the Second and/or Fourteenth Amendment. See Bruen, Slip
Opinion at p.57.
Amendment rights, New York may only limit the right to armed self-defense in
“sensitive places,” such as schools and polling places. See Bruen, Slip Opinion at p.21.
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54. Knowing that a state can only limit Second Amendment rights in such
“sensitive places,” the New York State Legislature specifically delineated what it
57. There is no valid historical precedent for such an expansive limit on New
Yorkers’ right to armed self-defense, especially as Section 5 acts to limit these Second
Amendment rights in locations New York implicitly acknowledges are not “sensitive
places” by virtue of such locations not being enumerated in Section 4 of Chapter 371.
locations that both historical precedent and the New York State Legislature’s own
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61. This is not to say that a McDonalds couldn’t impose some limits on
right to freedom of speech can be asked to leave if they are being disruptive, for
example. But the State cannot, in the first instance, presumptively ban constitutional
conduct on all private property as the default position unless the private property
way those rights are treated by Section 5, just as it would be patently unconstitutional
permission of such property’s owner/lessee with any more than it criminalize the
64. Because of Section 5’s restrictions, Paladino, and all other Handgun
Carry Licensees, will be unable to lawfully carry a concealed handgun for the purpose
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66. Under current law, an applicant for a Handgun Carry License “must
other things, he is of good moral character, has no history of crime or mental illness,
and that ‘no good cause exists for the denial of the license.’” See Bruen, Slip Opinion
67. Chapter 371 further strengthens this licensing regime by, among other
68. New York has thus established a licensing regime, which in the
judgement of the New York State Legislature, is sufficient to ensure that Handgun
Carry Licensees have the character, temperament, and training necessary to safely
COUNT ONE
42 U.S.C. § 1983 Action for Depravation of Plaintiffs’ Rights
under U.S. CONST. amends. II and XIV
paragraphs.
70. The Second Amendment’s guarantee of “the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms” secures to law-abiding, responsible, adult citizens the fundamental
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constitutional right to bear firearms in public for the purpose of self-defense. U.S.
72. New York can only generally restrict this right (1) by imposing a
constitutionally valid licensing regime that individuals must first pass through before
they are allowed to carry a firearm in public; (2) by imposing a ban on concealed carry,
but only if simultaneously allowing open carry; or (3) by limiting the carrying of a
73. Accordingly, because New York does not allow the open carrying of
Licensees from carrying a concealed firearm in locations that are not “sensitive
places.”
precedents that would justify a law that prohibits the carrying, open or concealed, of
all firearms, on all private property within the state, unless the owner or lessee of
permission from strangers (i.e., the owner/lessee of every property they visit) before
they are able to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense on such property.
Amendment.
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seek permission from the owner of each property they visit before they could legally
speak or pray.
way, especially after the Supreme Court declared: “The constitutional right to bear
different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.’” Bruen, Slip Opinion
at p.62.
compelling state interest to prohibit Handgun Carry Licensees—who have passed its
80. To the extent New York has any such compelling state interest, Section
81. Section 5 should also be found to be invalid because it does not have
rational connection to New York’s interest in promoting public safety. Section 5 acts
to prohibit Handgun Carry Licensees from carrying concealed firearms for self-
defense, despite the fact that New York has already determined that these very same
would-be criminals of the locations where they are least likely to encounter armed
resistance (i.e., whether or not a private property has posted the signage required
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Second Amendment rights of Handgun Carry Licensees, this Court should declare
applied to Plaintiffs.
on the Second Amendment rights of Handgun Carry Licensees, this Court should
Paladino, and enjoin Defendant from enforcing Section 5 against Handgun Carry
COUNT TWO
42 U.S.C. § 1983 Action for Depravation of Plaintiffs’ Rights
under U.S. Const. amends. I, V and XIV
paragraphs.
89. These First and Fifth Amendment rights apply against the State of New
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90. Plaintiff Ellicott Development does not wish to curtail New Yorkers’
Second Amendment rights to bear concealed firearms in public for self-defense at one
otherwise.
business operations, nor does it bear any relation to any legitimate interest New York
properties to include specific signage in order for Ellicott Development to ensure that
such properties are not found to be “restricted location[s]” for any Handgun Carry
Licensees. Installing such signage is the only way for Ellicott Development to ensure
this given that Ellicott Development is unaware of the identity of every individual
who enters its properties and whether or not such individuals are Handgun Carry
Licensees.
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business operations, nor does such signage bear any relation to any legitimate
interest New York state may have in relation to the safety of its residents.
5 is to be applied to Plaintiffs.
98. Therefore, this Court should (1) declare Section 5 unenforceable against
otherwise gives express permission for Handgun Carry Licensees to carry concealed
firearms on such properties; and (2) enjoin Defendants from enforcing Section 5
posts signage or otherwise gives express permission for Handgun Carry Licensees to
a. Declaring that Section 5 of Chapter 371 (i.e., N.Y. Penal Law § 265.01-
d), violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments insofar as it relates to Handgun
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Carry Licensees carrying concealed firearms, and is thus devoid of any legal force or
b. Declaring that Section 5 of Chapter 371 (i.e., N.Y. Penal Law § 265.01-
d), violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments insofar as Section 5 requires
property owners to speak before Handgun Carry Licensees may legally carry
concealed firearms on such private property, and is thus devoid of any legal force or
c. Declaring that Section 5 of Chapter 371 (i.e., N.Y. Penal Law § 265.01-
d), violates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments insofar as Section 5 requires
property owners to post signage on their property before Handgun Carry Licensees
may legally carry concealed firearms on such private property, and is thus devoid of
applying Section 5 of Chapter 371 (i.e., N.Y. Penal Law § 265.01-d) against Handgun
d. Granting such other and further relief as this Court deems just and
proper.
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