Suppressor approved...gun shop went out of buisness. What to do now?

[Aaron_B]

So a friend of mine bought a SDN6 and while waiting on the paperwork to get approved the shop declared bankruptcy and shut down. The owner never called him and informed him that his papers were approved back in April. The shop used their efile email so friend had no idea they were approved months before they shut down. On top of that, the owner never mentioned to him that they were closing up shop, they just made an facebook post saying they were closed and he was like WTF.

Now the dealer has the suppressor and friend has contacted the NFA to figure out what to do. NFA basically told him to pound sand and it is not their problem and to get a lawyer. The owner refuses to call my friend and only responds by email rarely. He told the owner he was going to get a lawyer and the owner was like that is fine I'll give him my bankruptcy lawyer's number.

Needless to say my friend is pretty pissed right now and I am just trying to see if anyone might have any information on what to do.

Thoughts?

[Eurodriver]

I'm no expert, but from my limited knowledge of bankruptcy there isn't much he can do.

The transfer was never made, so he doesn't own the suppressor. The dealer classified his payment as unearned revenue, and barring any strange state law, the bankruptcy cleared him of that liability.

A lawyer will cost far more than another SDN6 will cost.

[skijunkie55]

Did said friend actually purchase the suppressor from the dealer? If he forked out a grand for the can and the payment was processed, how can it be said he doesn't "own" it? He would have paid for the can, paid the $200 tax stamp to have been approved... So gun shop owner gets to keep the money and the can? That doesn't make sense...

[sinister]

If the Form 4 was approved he's supposed to have 90 days to transfer it, otherwise he's in illegal possession. I'm not a lawyer.

[Aaron_B]

Everything was paid for up front the suppressor and the tax. The form was actually approved in June I said April early by mistake either way its almost 6 months.

Euro, I understand what you are saying but would the dealer not be in some kind of illegal ownership as the suppressor was transferred by the shop and now he has it in his individual possession.

Sinister, do you know where I can find that?

[Aaron_B]

Sinister, I guess you were right. I told friend what you said and he called the NFA and they told him the same thing. Friend is now in contact with the local Sheriff and NFA office. We shall see what happens next.

[rushca01]

If the Form 4 was approved he's supposed to have 90 days to transfer it, otherwise he's in illegal possession. I'm not a lawyer.

This, inform the ATF of this and let the former shop owner know you are doing it....my guess is his attitude will change.

[tostado22]

I don't have much to add onto what has already been stated. I believe the shop owner will be f***ed by the long dick of the law, but I'm not a lawyer or NFA expert. Keep us informed on how this turns out. I'm interested to see where it goes

[Renegade]

If the Form 4 was approved he's supposed to have 90 days to transfer it, otherwise he's in illegal possession. I'm not a lawyer.

No such time limit. Hence why ATF told him to "pound sand".

OP you need to find out who has silencer. IF dealer no longer has it, that is a big problem. If he has it, you need to charm him into transferring it to you. Keep in mind if you piss him off, he can legally cancel the stamp. Then you get nothing.

[Eurodriver]

Did said friend actually purchase the suppressor from the dealer? If he forked out a grand for the can and the payment was processed, how can it be said he doesn't "own" it? He would have paid for the can, paid the $200 tax stamp to have been approved... So gun shop owner gets to keep the money and the can? That doesn't make sense...

I do not know anything about NFA laws as they pertain to FFLs and I won't pretend to. What I'm speaking of is strictly business transactions.

If the suppressor was liquidated during the bankruptcy, what can anyone do at this point?

If he still has the can, that's a different story. But you were unearned revenue - a liability. Just like all of his debt. The bankruptcy absolved him of that. His business was probably formed under a now defunct LLC that provides personal protection from the owner anyway.

Your options are limited, OP. If you paid with a CC initiate a charge back. Your friend can't sue him because it wasn't him that was the entity that did the sale. You can't get a suppressor that he doesn't have. Think of it like this:

A business owns a machine that is financed by a signature loan. The business goes under and they sell the machine to bobs machine store. The business files bankruptcy. The bank can't get the machine or their money back, legally.

All of this assumes he does not have the can anymore. If he does, then the ATF will be the one to contact, but I doubt they can do anything. It's still his can. He doesn't have to transfer it.

The 90 days sinister refers to is the amount of time that it can be transferred before having to reapply. Not some deadline dealers must adhere to for legal reasons.