Wood River attorney Thomas Maag filed a class action against a concealed carry class instructor for allegedly failing to meet the required criteria and distributing false certificates of completion.
Maag, of Maag Law Firm LLC, filed the class action on behalf of plaintiff Lucinda Klotz on Feb. 9 in the Madison County Circuit Court against defendant Terry Lumma.
The proposed class includes anyone who paid Lumma between Jan. 1, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2022, “for an Illinois concealed carry course, took said course, and received a purported training certificate purporting to indicate training, in accordance with Illinois law for a concealed carry license in Illinois.”
According to the three-page complaint, Lumma was an Illinois State Police-certified concealed carry instructor. Lumma was allegedly authorized to teach classes necessary to obtain an Illinois concealed carry license.
Klotz claims Lumma represented to her and each member of his classes that the course was lawful and that completing it would satisfy the training requirement to obtain the concealed carry license. The suit states that well over 100 individuals each paid approximately $120 for the 16-hour course.
“Defendant lied [to] his customers,” Maag wrote, “and failed to include as part of the course either the correct number of prescribed hours of training, the requisite shooting qualifications, or both.”
Upon completion of the class, Klotz claims the members were presented with a false certificate indicating they had taken a legally compliant course.
“In truth in fact, the certificates were lies, as the courses were not legally compliant, and defendant actually knew it and actually intended for his customers to actually rely on his deception,” he wrote.
The suit states that Lumma was charged with providing a false training certificate in Macoupin County. He has allegedly pleaded guilty to the charge and has been convicted. Therefore, Lumma is estopped from denying liability, Maag argues.
Klotz seeks a judgment in excess of $50,000, requests actual damages, disgorgement of funds paid, treble damages, attorney’s fees and court costs.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 22-LA-182