Two years after reaching a $5 million settlement with Nevada-based gun manufacturer Polymer80, the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved a request to retain outside counsel for judgment enforcement and collection.
In an 11-0 vote, the council authorized the City Attorney’s Office to secure a contract with Joel Selik, a licensed attorney who practices in Nevada and California. Council members Bob Blumenfield, John Lee, Imelda Padilla and Monica Rodriguez were absent during the vote.
According to a report from City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, it is important for the city to have local counsel to best advance the “people’s interests.”
“Mr. Selik has significant experience with Nevada-based judgment enforcement and collections work,” the report read. “We propose to retain Mr. Selik on a contingency fee plus costs basis, which is the most economical arrangement given defendants’ assets.”
A representative for Polymer80 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The council previously approved hiring another law firm to represent the city’s efforts for judgment enforcement, but it failed to move forward after the attorneys withdrew their offer.
In May 2023, Feldstein Soto’s office announced it secured a settlement with Polymer80, which also prohibited the company from selling its “ghost gun” kits in the state without first conducting background checks of buyers and serializing its products.
The company agreed to pay $4 million in civil penalties, and its two founders, Loran Kelley and David Borges, were to pay another $1 million.
According to the City Attorney’s Office, the stipulated judgment established a payment schedule and included a clause that required the $5 million immediately due.
Defendants have yet to make payments. They’ve also exhausted “all cure rights and grace periods, and have not demonstrated any intent to pay the judgment or any portion of it,” according to Feldstein Soto’s office.
The City Attorney’s Office filed the lawsuit in February 2021 with its partners, Everytown Law and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. They alleged that Polymer80 sold its gun kits in violation of the Gun Control Act and California gun laws.
They argued that without required background checks, the company’s products could easily be purchased by people who are prohibited from owning guns due to their criminal history, age or mental health status.
The settlement also required Polymer80 to halt customer support for Californians attempting to construct “ghost guns.” In addition, the company can longer state in its ads or on its website that unserialized gun kits are legal in California.