Cleopatra Nagbe, the mother of Ralph Yarl, a teenager shot after he knocked on the wrong door while trying to pick up his brother, has filed a lawsuit naming the shooter, 85-year-old Andrew Lester, and the homeowner’s association he belonged to, Kansas City CBS affiliate KCTV 5 reported Monday.
It looks like a bad shooting all the way around. Yarl, reported to be “an excellent student and talented musician [who] maintains a stellar GPA while taking mostly college level courses,” appears to have made an honest mistake by going to a house on NE 115 Street instead of 115 NE Terrace. And by his own words in his statement to police, Lester’s paranoid, admittedly race-influenced overreaction appears to merit the felony charges against him and then some.
But the Highland Acres Homes Association? What did – or didn’t – they do?
“Including the homeowner’s association (HOA) in this lawsuit underscores the importance of collective responsibility in safeguarding our communities,” Nagbe says of the complaint filed by (Democrat) attorney Lee Meritt. “Their knowledge of a potentially dangerous individual in the neighborhood without taking adequate precautions is unacceptable. This case is not just about seeking justice for Ralph but about advocating for systemic changes that prioritize the safety and well-being of all children.”
The questions “What knowledge?” and “What precautions?” come to mind. And “What systemic changes”?
The word “collective” gives us a clue as to mindset.
It presupposes such associations have the in-depth personal knowledge of each of their residents, the professional qualifications to assess their behavior, and the legal authority to do anything about conditions that don’t rise to a level of law enforcement or mental health agency intervention.
Per “Everything You Need to Know About Unenforceable HOA Rules and Regulations”:
“The general rule appears to be that, while HOAs have authority to enforce validly enacted restrictions on firearms or other weapons in open areas, courts will not enforce blanket restrictions that completely prohibit gun ownership by residents.”
Except that opinion regarding common areas was written in 2021, before the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. It’s fair to surmise such restrictions on open areas are not consistent with text, history, and tradition as understood at the time the Constitution was written, debated, and ratified.
Per the complaint against Highland Acres Homes Association, it “committed one or more of the following careless and/or negligent acts and/or omissions thereby breaching its duties in one or more of the following respects”:
- Carelessly and negligently failed to promulgate regulations sufficient to prevent its residents from firing a loaded weapon at a minor;
- Carelessly and negligently failed to inform its residents of its expectations involving the use of firearms on Association grounds, including homes within the boundaries of the Association;
- Carelessly and negligently created and allowed the existence of an atmosphere where Defendant, Andrew Lester, could shoot Plaintiff, P.R.Y., after ringing Defendant, Andrew Lester’s doorbell;
- Carelessly and negligently failed to inform and/or educate Defendant, Andrew Lester, about the dangers of discharging a loaded weapon within the grounds of the Association.
- Carelessly and negligently failed to render aid to Plaintiff, P.R.Y., after he was shot;
- Was otherwise careless and negligent.
In other words, the plaintiffs know they have nothing of merit, so they’re throwing everything against the wall to see if anything sticks. The goal here is to ban guns and dig into deep pockets, the HOA’s and its insurance carrier, and hoping that the expense of prolonged litigation will coerce the defendant into surrendering to extortion with a settlement. And that, in turn, will be used by gun banners everywhere to pull the same thing on other associations, wherever they think they can get away with it.
Sympathy for the victim and his family is appropriate. They didn’t deserve this. But by being part of this action, and by placing blame and demands on anyone but the admitted shooter, they have placed themselves on the side of those whose motives for citizen disarmament are anything but just.
If justice is to be done, the judge will throw out the complaint against the HOA and invoke applicable Missouri law:
“The court must require any party who initiates a frivolous claim, asserts a frivolous defense, files a frivolous motion, or cause proceedings to be had needlessly to pay the opposing party’s costs and reasonable expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees and compensation.”
Plaintiffs and their self-promoting leftist lawyer have no right to manipulate sympathies and attack the innocent. But with gun grabbers, when is it ever different?
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
OK – put me on the jury. I’d say that plaintiff’s lawyer must pay legal expenses of the HOA. This lawyer decided to pursue the case, likely on contingency and I consider this frivolous suit to be almost entirely the fault of that lawyer. Besides – the rule of deeper pockets means that lawyer should pay as he undoubtedly has deeper pockets than the plaintiff.
If lawyer cannot cover the expense – put them in bankruptcy and strip their bar membership. Heck – strip their license to practice law regardless of whether they pay.
Looks like the plaintif is under the influence of an unscrupulous lawyer. One who knows this will go nowhere but wants to squeeze every penny they can from their client. There should be legal sanctions on lawers who do this as their legal charade victimizes the client and the defendant.
Homeowners Associations do not have the power to regulate firearms. Nor to they have the power to usurp the US Constitution. I can smell the hands of Benjiman Grump, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and Cori Bush. The article was dead right about the use of the term “collectivist.” The victim, Ralph Yarl, and his mother, Ms. Nagbe (funny how the don’t have the same last name) are hurting. But they are being victimized again by the race hustlers, who are looking to exploit the situation for their own gains, fiduciary and political. Mr. Yarl and Ms. Nagbe should wait until… Read more »
My brother -in-law and sister-in-law jumped me one night and kept asking me for MY plan to stop mass shootings. After disallowing all my answers concerning legally stopping would be shooters, I was asked about guns in general and did I have a gun. I replied that I had a safe full of guns and then was met with, “You have a gun here?”. “Is that even legal?” ” Who said you could have guns here (in this retirement village)?” I then explained everything and the fact that I had 20 years in the military to include that I had… Read more »
Homeowners’Associations have NO respinsibility to manage or dictate any of the items listed in this comlaint. HPA’s are restricted to such inanities as to height of law allowed, number of non-functioning cars with their turf, what hours of day/night dogs and cats may be at liberty, (and how many of eich or neither a given home may be permited to have) which paint store will supply the range of allowed colours for the painting of houses…. HOA’s make nasty nannies.. but are not your Mother. How do I know these things? My younger brother made the foolish mistake of buying… Read more »
Of late, lawyers are running the economy. Just came off of a cross country (and return) road trip and I can report that more than half of the signs and billboards were for LAWYERS. I’m sick of them.