Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds PLCAA

In a unanimous decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on March 31 ruled that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), passed by Congress in 2004 and signed into law by President George W. Bush, is constitutional and applies to bar the lawsuit Gustafson v. Springfield, Inc. 

The case revolves around a 13-year-old who was accidentally shot and killed by a 14-year-old friend at a residence in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in 2016. As a result of his actions and upon his admission, the 14-year-old was adjudicated delinquent of involuntary manslaughter in juvenile court.

The 13-year-old boy’s parents filed a lawsuit against Springfield Armory, which made the gun, along with the store that sold the firearm. The plaintiffs alleged defective design, negligent design and sale, and negligent warnings and marketing.

After the trial court dismissed the complaint with prejudice, citing the PLCAA, plaintiffs appealed and the Superior Court reversed the trial court’s decision, remanding the case for further consideration. The State Supreme Court’s ruling reversed that of the Superior Court, finding that the defendants were protected from the lawsuit under the PLCAA.

“Plaintiffs’ action is a qualified civil liability action pursuant to the PLCAA and does not qualify under the Act’s product liability exception,” the ruling concluded. “As such, the PLCAA operates to bar Plaintiffs’ action. Further, the PLCAA is a valid exercise of Congress’s Commerce Clause authority and does not violate the Tenth Amendment or principles of federalism. We therefore vacate the Superior Court’s per curiam order reversing the trial court and remand for reinstatement of the trial court’s order sustaining Defendants’ preliminary objections in the nature of demurrer.”

With this ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court joins the supreme courts of Missouri, Alaska, Illinois and the U.S. District Court of Appeals—the highest court in the District of Columbia—in upholding the constitutionality of the PLCAA. To date, every state and federal appellate court that has examined the constitutionality of the PLCAA has upheld the statute.

Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), said his organization was happy with the court’s ruling.

“NSSF is pleased by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision holding that the PLCAA is constitutional and prevents lawsuits that attempt to blame members of the firearm industry for the criminal misuse of a lawfully sold firearm,” Keane said in a news release. “While we are sympathetic to the heartbreaking loss the Gustafson family suffered, this tragic incident was the result of the criminal misuse of the firearm and the irresponsible negligence of the owner of the firearm who failed to safely secure it to prevent unauthorized access by an unsupervised juvenile. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s unanimous decision shows, once again, that the PLCAA is solidly rooted in foundational tort law.”