No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section requires immediate dismissal of any qualified civil liability action, including all claims asserted in it, that is pending on the date of enactment of the Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act (instead of October 26, 2005).
This section revises definitions in the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. It defines “engaged in the business” as devoting time, attention, and labor to the sale, manufacture, or importation of a qualified product as a regular course of trade or business. It includes owners and employees within the term “manufacturer.” It adds a definition of “proximate cause” requiring that the plaintiff was directly injured by the defendant’s allegedly unlawful conduct. It expands “qualified product” to cover items defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3)(C) and accessories such as ammunition magazines, clips, and optical devices. It broadens “qualified civil liability action” to include claims arising under any theory of liability while adding exceptions for breach of contract or warranty, design or manufacturing defects when lawfully used, actions by the Attorney General, and claims by persons under 17 years old, and it bars actions by foreign states or governments.
This section provides procedures for removing qualified civil liability actions against firearm manufacturers, sellers, or trade associations from state courts to federal district courts upon a colorable assertion of immunity under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. It requires plaintiffs to plead with particularity the facts establishing any exception to immunity and proximate cause, grants defendants an immediate interlocutory appeal of any denial of a motion to dismiss, and awards prevailing defendants reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
This section preempts state and local laws that impose liability on qualified product manufacturers, sellers, and trade associations for damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, fines, or other remedies arising from the criminal misuse, alteration, or modification of a qualified product.