Bloomberg Law
July 6, 2021, 7:17 PM UTC

New York Enacts First-in-U.S. Law to Limit Gun-Liability Shield

Keshia Clukey
Keshia Clukey
Correspondent

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Tuesday signed legislation that makes it easier to bring civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers by bypassing the blanket immunity provided to the industry under federal law.

The measure (A.6762B/S.7196) is the first-of-its-kind in the nation and would allow sellers, manufacturers, importers, or marketers of guns to be held liable for a “public nuisance,” defined as actions that harm the public, according to the new state law’s language.

The use of public nuisance law is thought to be a sort of legal loophole to work around federal protections, bill sponsor ...

Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:

Learn About Bloomberg Law

AI-powered legal analytics, workflow tools and premium legal & business news.

Already a subscriber?

Log in to keep reading or access research tools.