BUFFALO, N.Y. — Attorneys on both sides of the civil lawsuit that seeks to hold social media companies liable for their alleged roles in the racist mass shooting on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo met Wednesday to try and move the case forward.
The meeting comes after state Supreme Court Judge Paula Feroleto ruled against a motion to dismiss the case filed by seven social media platforms, which argued they were protected under a U.S. law called Section 230.
The plaintiffs contend, however, that it wasn't just content, it was the decision of social media that repeatedly exposed then-teenage gunman Payton Gendron to racist ideology, and radicalized him to the point of executing a plot to seek and kill Black people.
On the table, Wednesday was another motion seeking to stall the case by staying discovery, which is the gathering of documents and evidence before a case goes to trial. The defendants filed the motion citing their appeal of the dismissal decision to the appellate court in Rochester.
Judge Paula Feroleto did not rule on the motion.
Attorneys John Elmore and Terry Connors, who represent 5/14 families, told 2 On Your Side Judge Feroleto brought all parties together to try and keep the civil case moving.
"All I can say is this that we have a judge that is focused on efficiency speed and fairness and so rather than having an argument and have this case delayed further she's encouraging the parties to work things out and hopefully we can do that," Elmore said.
Elmore did not elaborate on how long those discussions may take.
"Try to work things out meet and confer with each other take a practical approach to allow how the discovery to proceed and I think [Judge Feroleto] made it clear she wants this case to move forward and as John pointed out it's important to the community," Connors added.