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Glock lawsuit in Minnesota survives efforts to dismiss

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Published  August 22, 2025 4:01pm CDT
Investigators
FOX 9
Minnesota lawsuit against Glock survives

Minnesota lawsuit against Glock survives

Minnesota?s lawsuit against gun manufacturer Glock can proceed following a district judge?s ruling this week which denied the company?s attempts to dismiss the case under a federal shield law that generally protects the firearms industry from civil litigation.

The Brief

    • A judge this week denied Glock’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the State of Minnesota last year.
    • The lawsuit says the gun-maker’s pistols are easily modified into full automatic machine guns with an inexpensive modification known as a "switch" or "auto sear," which is capable of allowing a handgun to fire approximately 1,100-1,200 rounds per minute.
    • Attorneys for Glock, one of the largest gun manufacturers in the world, have argued it was shielded by a federal law that generally protects the firearms industry from civil litigation.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota’s lawsuit against gun manufacturer Glock can proceed following a district judge’s ruling this week which denied the company’s attempts to dismiss the civil case under a federal shield law that generally protects the firearms industry from civil litigation.

Glock’s attempt to dismiss lawsuit fails 

What we know:

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a civil lawsuit last year against Glock for its design, manufacture and sale of semi-automatic guns, which Ellison claims can be easily converted into illegal machine guns.

Ellison says the gun-maker has been aware since the 1980s that the design of its pistols allowed for easy modification to make the gun function like a fully automatic firearm.

The lawsuit claims Glock violated several Minnesota laws, including consumer fraud, false advertising, negligence, deceptive trade practices and product liability laws.

Earlier this year, Glock’s attorneys argued in court that Minnesota’s lawsuit should be dismissed under a federal shield law known as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which generally protects the firearms industry from civil litigation. Glock also argued the lawsuit would violate the company’s First and Second Amendment rights.

However, District Court Judge Christian Sande did not agree with Glock’s assertions and ruled that the lawsuit could proceed.

What they're saying:

Ellison said the recent court ruling "puts us one step closer to ensuring Glock can no longer flood Minnesota with handguns that can easily be converted into illegal, fully automatic machine guns."

The Attorney General’s Office has partnered on the case with the University of Minnesota Law School’s Gun Violence Prevention Clinic and The Giffords Law Center.

"This is a major victory in the fight against gun violence and crime for Minnesotans. The gun industry doesn’t have a free pass to break the law," said former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. "When gun companies endanger communities, they should be held responsible, and that is the justice we are pursuing in this lawsuit."

The other side:

Attorneys for Glock did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

By the numbers:

In 2023, the Minneapolis Police Department reportedly recovered more than triple the number of Glock switches compared to 2021.

During a press conference last year, MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said out of the 153 firearms police recovered with a ‘switch", 126 of those were Glock firearms.

Big picture view:

This is the second civil lawsuit filed by Minnesota against the gun industry that has survived early motions to dismiss.

An unrelated lawsuit against gun retailer Fleet Farm is ongoing.

InvestigatorsGun LawsMinnesotaCrime and Public SafetyPolitics