(CORRECTED COPY)
An Act concerning public safety and supplementing Title2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of NewJersey:
C.2C:58-33Attorney General, statutory cause of action, public nuisanceviolations, certain.
1. a. In cases involving the common law tort ofpublic nuisance, New Jersey courts have issued decisions which have limited theability of public officials to pursue civil actions for abatement, damages, andother relief from the negligent, reckless and, in some cases, illegal conductof bad actors in the gun industry, whose misconduct results in harm to thepublic and fuels the epidemic of gun violence in New Jersey and across thenation. Since the passage of Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act(PLCAA), federal law has created an additional barrier to this relief andshielded gun industry members from being held accountable for misconduct.
b. The practical result of those decisions is thatthe people of New Jersey have been deprived in many cases of adequateprotection from and appropriate redress for injuries to public health andsafety resulting from gun violence.
c. With respect to gun violence, the unavailabilityof a robust public nuisance statute has limited the State’s ability to seeklegal redress in situations where firearms manufacturers and retail dealers mayhave knowingly or recklessly taken actions that have endangered the safety andhealth of New Jersey residents through the sale, manufacture, distribution, andmarketing of lethal, but nonetheless legal, gun-related products. Even asmanufacturers have incorporated features and technology resulting in moredeadly and destructive firearms, some actors in the gun industry haveimplemented sales, distribution and marketing practices that have contributedto the development of an illegal secondary market for these increasinglydangerous instrumentalities.
d. Therefore, it is necessary and proper to promoteand protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of New Jersey byrequiring gun industry members to establish and implement reasonableprocedures, safeguards, and business practices for the sale, manufacture, distribution,importing, and marketing of gun-related products and establishing a statutorycause of action for public nuisance violations available to the AttorneyGeneral to address injuries to public health and safety and to seek relief,including but not limited to abatement and other injunctive relief, damages,and attorneys’ fees and costs.
C.2C:58-34 Definitions.
2. As used in this act:
“Gun industry member” means a person engaged in thesale, manufacturing, distribution, importing or marketing of a gun-relatedproduct, and any officer, agent, employee, or other person authorized to act onbehalf of that person or who acts in active concert or participation with oneor more such persons.
“Gun-related product” means any firearm, ammunition,ammunition magazine, firearm component or part including, but not limited to, afirearm frame and a firearm receiver, or firearm accessory, which product was,or was intended to be, sold, manufactured, distributed, imported, or marketedin this State, or which product was possessed in this State and as to which itwas reasonably foreseeable that the product would be possessed or used in thisState.
“Person”means any natural person, firm, corporation, company, partnership, society,joint stock company, or any other entity or association.
“Public nuisance” means any condition which injures,endangers, or threatens to injure or endanger or contributes to the injury orendangerment of the health, safety, peace, comfort, or convenience of others or which otherwise constitutes apublic nuisance under common law.
“Reasonablecontrols” means reasonable procedures, safeguards, and business practices thatare designed to:
(1) prevent the sale or distribution of a gun-relatedproduct to a straw purchaser, a firearm trafficker, a person prohibited frompossessing a firearm under State or federal law, or a person who the gunindustry member has reasonable cause to believe is at substantial risk of usinga gun-related product to harm themselves or unlawfully harm another or of unlawfullypossessing or using a gun-related product;
(2) prevent the loss of a gun-related product ortheft of a gun-related product from a gun industry member;
(3) ensure that a gun industry member complies withall provisions of State and federal law and does not otherwise promote theunlawful sale, manufacture, distribution, importing, marketing, possession, oruse of a gun-related product; and
(4) ensure that the gun industry member does notengage in an act or practice in violation of any of the regulatory provisionsgoverning firearms set forth in chapters 39 and 58 of Title 2C of the NewJersey Statutes or engage in conduct that constitutes a violation of P.L.1960,c.39 (C.56:8-2) or any regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Strawpurchaser” means an individual who purchases, or attempts or conspires topurchase, a gun-related product at the request, order, or demand of another orfor the purpose of selling or transferring to another person, knowing orreasonably believing that such other person is not authorized to eitherpurchase or possess a gun-related product, or both, by the laws of this State,the United States, or of the state in which the other person resides by virtueof having a conviction of a crime, or for any other reason.
C.2C:58-35 Gun industry member, engage in public nuisance,prohibited, consequences; reasonable controls.
3. a. (1) A gun industrymember shall not, by conduct either unlawful in itself or unreasonable underall the circ*mstances, knowingly or recklessly create, maintain, or contributeto a public nuisance in this State through the sale, manufacturing, distribution, importing,or marketing of a gun-related product.
(2) A gun industry membershall establish, implement, and enforce reasonable controls regarding itsmanufacture, sale, distribution, importing, and marketing of gun-relatedproducts. (3) It shall be a public nuisance to engage in conductthat violates paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection.
b. Whenever itappears to the Attorney General that a gun industry member has engaged in or isengaging in conduct that violates subsection a. of this section, the AttorneyGeneral may commence an action to seek and obtain: an injunction prohibitingthe gun industry member from continuing that conduct or engaging therein ordoing any acts in furtherance thereof; an order providing for abatement of thenuisance at the expense of the defendant; restitution; damages; reasonableattorneys' fees, filing fees, and reasonable costs of suit; and any otherappropriate relief.
c. To prevail in anaction under this section, the Attorney General shallnot be required to demonstrate that the gun industry member acted with the purpose to engage in any public nuisance orotherwise cause harm to the public. TheAttorney General shall not be required to demonstrate any special injury to begranted the relief authorized by this section.
d. When it appears to the Attorney General that agun industry member has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage inconduct that violates subsection a. of this section, or when the AttorneyGeneral believes it is in the public interest that an investigation should bemade to ascertain whether a gun industry member has in fact engaged in, isengaging in, or is about to engage in conduct that violates subsection a. ofthis section, the Attorney General may:
(1) require the gun industry member or any other person tofile a statement or report in writing under oath or otherwise, as to all thefacts and circ*mstances concerning conduct, and other data and information asthe Attorney General deems necessary;
(2) examine under oath any gun industry member or any other person concerningthe act or omission;
(3) examine any record, object, book, document,account, or paper as the Attorney General deems necessary; and
(4) pursuant to an order of the Superior Court,impound and retain in the Attorney General’s possession any record, book,document, account, object, or paper that is produced in accordance with thisact until the completion of all proceedings in connection with impounded items.
e. Tothe extent causation is applicable, the conduct of a gun industry membershall be deemed to constitute a proximate cause of the public nuisance if theharm to the public was a reasonably foreseeable effect of such conduct,notwithstanding any intervening actions, including but not limited to criminalactions by third parties.
f. The Attorney General may establish or designatewithin the Department of Law and Public Safety a unit, bureau, office ordivision to exercise all functions, powers, and duties of the Attorney Generalestablished under or deriving from P.L.2022, c.56 (C.2C:58-33 et seq.) andwhich may perform such other functions, powers, and duties vested in theDepartment of Law and Public Safety as the Attorney General may deemappropriate.
g. Nothing in P.L.2022, c.56 (C.2C:58-33 et seq.) shall be construed to deny, abrogate, or impair anystatutory or common law right, remedy, or prohibition otherwise available toany party, including the Attorney General.
C.2C:58-36 Exemptions.
4. The provisions ofP.L.1987, c.197 (C.2A:58C-1 et seq.) shall not apply to any public nuisanceaction brought by the Attorney General pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2022,c.56 (C.2C:58-35).
5. This act shall takeeffect immediately and shall apply to all actions instituted on or after theeffective date of this act, and to all proceedings taken subsequent to theeffective date of this act in all actions pending on the act’s effective date, exceptthat judgments entered or awards made pursuant to law from which no appeal ispending on the act’s effective date shall not be affected by the provisions ofthis act.
Approved July 5, 2022.
