10th Circuit rejects family’s appeal in Letgo murder case

DENVER (CN) — The 10th Circuit on Thursday affirmed the dismissal of torts and deceptive trade practices claims filed against Letgo by children whose parents were murdered during a used car sale facilitated by the app.

“Because we agree the amended complaint fails to plausibly allege a cause of action under Colorado law, we affirm,” U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich wrote in a 20-page opinion.

Joseph Roland, a father of five, was looking for a used car on Letgo for his oldest daughter in August 2020. He saw a man named James Worthy selling a used 2017 Toyota Rav 4 for $5,000 on the marketplace, not knowing the seller was really 18-year-old Kyree Brown. When Roland and his wife Jossline met the seller at a well-lit Petco in Aurora, Brown lured them back to his home and tried to rob them at gunpoint.

Brown then shot and killed Joseph and Jossline.

Brown was arrested on Aug. 27, 2020, and two years later was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder along with aggravated robbery, theft and arson. He is serving a life sentence.

The Rolands’ surviving children sued Letgo and its parent company OfferUp in April 2022, claiming gross negligence and fraud because the company failed to vet Brown’s profile as advertised. At the time, Letgo told users its verification process and relationship with law enforcement provided a safer platform to buy and sell used goods compared to competitors like Craigslist.

A federal judge dismissed the case in December 2022, finding the plaintiffs failed to show how these representations caused the Rolands’ deaths or that the company knowingly put the couple at risk. The family appealed.

“According to plaintiffs, Letgo created an illusion that accounts like Mr. Brown’s could be trusted but undertook no actual verification procedures. Thus, plaintiffs argue Letgo increased the risk that users like the Rolands would purchase stolen products or meet a seller who would cause them harm,” Tymkovich, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote for the three-judge panel. “We find this argument unpersuasive.”

Tymkovich pointed to Letgo’s safety guides and warnings to users encouraging them to undergo their own verification process and meet in public places to exchange goods.

“Thus, in context, Letgo’s statements are not an expression of approval that its platform is safe and that all users are trustworthy,” Tymkovich wrote.

Even though the car seller’s profile was “verified,” Tymkovich noted, it contained no profile pictures or reviews, and so should have been found suspect.

At the same time, the panel declined to review Letgo’s cross-appeal over whether the company should be immune from the suit entirely under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which largely absolves platforms for content posted by individual users.

Citing the 2009 10th Circuit opinion in FTC v. Accusearch Inc. , the lower court found that Letgo had acted as a publisher because it verified Brown’s account via text message, and therefore could be sued.

Barack Obama appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Scott Matheson and U.S. Circuit Judge Joel Carson, a Donald Trump appointee, signed onto the opinion.

Attorneys representing the Roland family did not immediately return a request for comment. Neither Letgo nor its attorney responded to an inquiry before publication.

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