Press & Publications

On June 24, 2025, RLF secured another victory for one of its firearm industry clients, an Ohio-based shooting range, when a state court granted a motion to dismiss based on the immunity provided by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”). The court dismissed all claims against the shooting range pursuant to the PLCAA and found that the plaintiff failed to show any valid legal basi...

April 17, 2025 - Renzulli Law Firm originally secured a complete dismissal of a products liability case on behalf of one of its firearm manufacturer clients through a motion for summary judgment.  Plaintiffs alleged that the subject pistol contained a design defect, and that defect resulted in the pistol discharging after the owner dropped it and it struck the concrete floor of his garage.  Throu...

On March 31, 2025, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a unanimous decisionaffirming a lower court decision that claims brought against RLF’s clients are barred by the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 7901-03 (“PLCAA”), and that the PLCAA is constitutional. Plaintiffs’ teenage son was tragically shot and killed with a pistol when a friend (the “shooter”) pointed i...

March 17, 2025 - Renzulli Law Firm obtained a complete litigation victory for one its firearms dealer clients (the “Dealer”).  The lawsuit concerned an attempted murder by a then-employee of the Dealer (the “Shooter”) of the Shooter’s ex-fiancé and her boss (“Plaintiffs”) inside of the boss’s residential trailer.  Plaintiffs’ claims against the Dealer were based on the theory that the Dealer negl...

March 7, 2025 - This week, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments on whether Mexico included sufficient factual allegations in its complaint to support its legal claims against seven firearms manufacturers and one distributor. Based on the procedural status of the case and questions from the Court, Mexico’s case appears likely to be dismissed.  As previously reported, the defendants w...

On February 1, 2025, President Trump announced that the United States would be imposing tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China in response to the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl,” which “constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.” Specifically, President Trump intended to impose a “25% addition...

October 9, 2024 - This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok. As you may recall from our prior Blasts on this case, the questions presented to the Court are: (1) whether a parts kit that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to expel a projectile is a firearm under the Gun Control Act (“GCA”); and (2) whether a partially...

October 4, 2024 - RLF recently secured another victory for a firearm industry client that manufactures a diverse selection of handguns and long guns. RLF obtained an Order excluding Plaintiffs’ “gun expert” from testifying at trial. In the case, Plaintiffs claimed that the subject pistol drop-fired while he was in a bathroom. In an effort to support their claims,  Plaintiffs offered the testimony...

Last week, we stepped out of the office and headed to the range.  Our attorneys and staff enjoyed a day of shooting a variety of firearms, including handguns and rifles. Our session was led by prominent firearms trainer Emanuel Kapelsohn and his top-notch assistant trainers. Our “range day” is not only an opportunity for our attorneys and staff to step outside of the office and the courtroom...

On June 14, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision (“Opinion”) striking down the ATF’s Rule that banned bump stocks.  Contrary to main-stream media’s accounts, the Supreme Court did not legalize machineguns last Friday.  The Supreme Court merely upheld a bedrock principal of our form of government – Congress makes the laws and the Executive Branch (including the Presid...

May 7, 2024 - On September 13, 2023, the New York State Firearms Association (“NYSFA”), a nonprofit that advocates for Second Amendment rights, and three individuals (including one state senator and one state assemblyman) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the superintendent of New York State Police challenging the validity of New York’s recent laws requiring a background check for ammuniti...

March 21, 2024 - In 2019, an employee of a company in California shot and killed another employee using a semi-automatic pistol manufactured by one of RLF’s clients. The family of the victim sued the shooter, the employer, and the manufacturer of the pistol. RLF immediately moved to dismiss the case based on the federal immunity law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”). Howeve...

February 1, 2024 - RLF achieved another victory for one of its firearm industry clients in a lawsuit alleging negligent entrustment of a firearm. The firearm retailer named as a defendant in the case completed all the required paperwork and ran a background check through New Hampshire’s point of contact system. The state’s Department of Safety responded with a “delay” response. Several days after...

August 3, 2023 - RLF achieved another victory for one of its firearm industry clients in a recently filed lawsuit pursuant to Section 128.053 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. RLF represented a shooting range located near Dallas, Texas. The Plaintiff claimed that he sustained significant hearing loss at the shooting range because he was sold insufficient hearing protection. Section 1...

June 16, 2023 - Renzulli Law Firm recently secured a complete dismissal of a lawsuit on behalf of one of its firearm dealer clients in Kansas based on an aggressive defense and calculated use of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).  Plaintiffs alleged that this Midwest firearms dealer negligently entrusted (sold) a firearm to a customer and violated federal law by completing the...

JUNE 8, 2023 - RLF employees, friends and families enjoyed burgers, beer, music, wine, spirits, food trucks and the best grilling this side of the Hudson River at The Burger & Beer Blast - Westchester’s ultimate block party! We joined more than 2,000 participants who were undeterred by the cloudy skies, a result of the Canadian wildfires. Top local chefs presented their unique take on the al...

On April 14, 2023, the State of Washington’s legislature passed Substitute Senate Bill 5078 (“SB 5078”). This bill is expected to be signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. The new law is designed to avoid the application of a federal law, which prohibits lawsuits against firearms industry members when their legally sold products are used by criminals to injure or kill others. Washingto...

April 13, 2023 - Renzulli Law Firm successfully convinced a plaintiff to dismiss her product liability case alleging various design and manufacturing defects against a U.S. based firearm manufacturer. Following several procedural and substantive missteps by the plaintiff, RLF responded to the lawsuit by filing a comprehensive motion to dismiss which laid out the fatal errors in the case. In parti...

April 3, 2023 - Renzulli Law Firm secured a complete dismissal of a product liability case on behalf of a U.S. based firearm manufacturer through a motion for summary judgment.  Plaintiffs alleged that the subject pistol contained a design defect, and that defect resulted in the pistol discharging after the owner dropped it.  RLF proved that the design of the pistol met all industry sta...

December 7, 2022 - The ATF released a new version of the Form 4473 today.  According to the ATF, this revised version was necessitated by new statutory requirements implemented though the NICS Denial Notification Act and the Bipartisan Safer Community Act, and to reflect the implementation of Final Rule 2021R-05F (new definitions of “firearm frame or receiver” with new markings requirements – whi...

On Friday, September 30, 2022, Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a decisiondismissing Mexico’s lawsuit against the firearms industry in its entirety. Mexico had filed a complaint against seven firearms manufacturers and one firearms distributor on August 4, 2021, claiming that they supply a large majority of the illegal fire...

July 20, 2022 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns (“MAIG”), a coalition of Democratic mayors affiliated with the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety and its gun control proponent founder billionaire Michael Bloomberg, attended a summit in New York City to plan a simultaneous attack against firearm manufacturers and distributors. Mayors of multiple Democratic controlled cities attended the meetin...

June 23, 2022 - Today, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that New York State’s law requiring a license to carry a handgun in public for purposes of self-defense based on a “proper cause” standard violates the right to keep and bear arms.  In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the majority held that the “Second and Fourteenth Amendments protec...

On April 10, 2022, Attorney General Garland signed a Final Rule titled “Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms” (“Final Rule”).  This 364 page document makes extensive revisions to the Code of Federal Regulations governing commerce in Firearms, including the regulations adopted pursuant to the Gun Control Act (“GCA”), the National Firearms Act, and the Arms Export Contro...

On February 14, 2022, Renzulli Law Firm won a motion for summary judgment dismissing claims against a firearms dealer pursuant to New Hampshire’s firearms industry immunity law.  RLF’s client, a federally licensed firearms dealer in New Hampshire, legally sold a firearm to a purchaser.  Six weeks later, the purchaser used the firearm to shoot two police officers.  The purchaser was...

January 10, 2022 The Gun Control Act (“GCA”) requires all federally licensed firearms dealers to certify that they have secure gun storage or safety devices available for purchase by their customers. On Monday, the DOJ published a new regulation in the Federal Register that expands this requirement.  The new rule, which goes into effect on February 3, 2022, applies to all federa...

November 3, 2021 Oral argument was held before the United States Supreme Court this morning in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Kevin P. Bruen, in his Official Capacity of Superintendent of New York State Police. As previously reported, this lawsuit arises from a challenge to New York’s concealed carry law that requires applicants to make a showing of “proper ...

September 24, 2021 On September 21, 2021, the Missouri Court of Appeals issued a decision affirming the dismissal of a case in which plaintiffs alleged that a sporting goods store illegally sold ammunition to a straw purchaser.  Renzulli Law Firm represented the store in both the trial court and on appeal. Plaintiffs claimed that the store sold ammunition to a straw purchaser, w...

September 9, 2021 It is being widely reported that President Biden is withdrawing the nomination of David Chipman to be the next Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Mr. Chipman’s nomination was uniformly opposed by firearms industry members and Second Amendment advocates, and widely supported by gun control groups, such as Brady United, Everytown for Gun ...

August 9, 2021 On August 4, 2021, Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Mexico) filed a Complaint in the District of Massachusetts against several firearms manufacturers and one distributor. Mexico deceptively claims that these defendants manufacture a large majority of the illegal firearms used to commit crimes in Mexico, especially those used by drug cartels. Mexico claims that the defendants ...

July 23, 2021 RLF achieved another victory for one of its firearm industry clients by successfully defeating an appeal brought by the Plaintiff in a case against the Long Island Practical Shooters Association (LIPSA).  The case involved a competitive quick-draw shooting competition hosted by LIPSA on August 21, 2016.  The Plaintiff, who had extensive experience participating in compe...

June 25, 2021 Today the Texas Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision granting a petition for a writ of mandamus filed by Academy, Ltd. d/b/a Academy Sports + Outdoors (“Academy”) to dismiss lawsuits arising from the 2017 church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas pursuant to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (“PLCAA”). Plaintiffs in four consolidated lawsuits had argued t...

June 9, 2021 The New York Senate and Assembly recently passed a series of gun control bills targeting the firearms industry at-large, as well as law abiding gun owners in the Empire State. The following are some of the key aspects of the bills that are likely to be signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo.  Assembly Bill A6762B (passed by both the NY Senate and Assembly) declares the i...

April 26, 2021 For the first time in more than a decade, the Supreme Court is poised to issue a major decision regarding the scope of the right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment.  Earlier today, the Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Keith M. Corlett, in H...

April 8, 2021 Today, from the Rose Garden, President Joe Biden announced a series of Executive Actions to further the Biden Administration’s gun control agenda.  Realizing that Congressional action on gun control is unlikely due to a deeply divided Senate and a filibuster that affords Republicans the ability to block excessive gun control proposals from becoming law, President Biden is, o...

February 1, 2021 In the waning days of 2020, the United States Congress enacted and President Trump signed into law the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (“TMA”).  The legislation establishes a new category of administrative proceeding within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and may significantly impact the way non-U.S. firearms companies and other clients approach their U...

January 21, 2021 We attended the NSSF’s January 11-14 firearms import-export webinars so that we can pass on the valuable information to those of you who were unable to attend.  As many of you know, jurisdiction over the export of the majority of firearms and ammunition was formally transferred from the Department of State to the Department of Commerce on March 9, 2020.  Most firearm...

November 20, 2020 U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) and U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) recently introduced S. 4841, the ATF Improvement and Modernization Act of 2020 (“AIM Act”) which would repeal numerous restrictions on the ATF that have been added to federal law through appropriations bills over the years.  Among other provisions, the AIM Act would repeal the “Tiahrt...

September 23, 2020 Litigators in the Lone Star State are the first to admit: justice often doesn’t come swiftly in Texas courts.  And parties to lawsuits can attest that when a case drags on through the court system – even where there are strong defenses – it will be a costly endeavor for the client.  RLF bucked this trend for its handgun manufacturer client when it was successful in...

August 17, 2020 California’s 2016 ban on so-called “high capacity magazines” (defined as any magazine holding more than ten rounds of ammunition) has been struck down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A three judge panel issued a decision today holding that California’s ban was not narrowly tailored to the state’s interest in preventing mass shootings,...

On June 29, 2020, in a unanimous opinion, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on “large-capacity magazines.”  In 2013, the Colorado Governor, John Hickenlooper, signed HB 13-1224 into law. HB 13-1224 banned the sale, transfer, or possession of “large-capacity magazines,” which are defined as “any fixed or detachable magazine, box, drum, feed strip, or similar device capabl...

April 27, 2020The Supreme Court issued its decision today in the Second Amendment case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. City of New York, New York.  The case involved a Second Amendment challenge to restrictions that the City of New York placed on premises pistol permits that prevented permit holders from transporting handguns (unloaded and in a locked case) to another resi...

April 13, 2020 As noted in our April 10, 2020 blast, some states have closed down firearms dealers based on their non-essential business designation.   The majority of states, however, have allowed firearms dealers to remain open for business and demand for firearms is at a record high.  Open firearms dealers, like all other businesses, are being urged to practice social distancing.&...

The Tiahrt Amendment, Public Law 112-55, 125 Stat. 609-610, generally prohibits the ATF from disclosing trace data, and records required to be maintained or reported by federal firearms licensees pursuant to the Gun Control Act, such as acquisition and disposition records, Form 4473s, and multiple sale reports.  Exceptions are made for disclosure to law enforcement agencies for use in crimin...

Significant changes to California’s Proposition 65 warning regulations will go into effect in two months, on August 30.  Enacted in 1986, California’s Proposition 65 (commonly called “Prop 65”) requires businesses to provide a warning regarding products that contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.  Prop 65, especially ...

Throughout the months leading up to the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) -- the EU’s radical overhaul of data privacy rules and regulations -- we predicted that the states would begin enacting tougher, more stringent data privacy laws. (We even predicted that California would take the lead.)  Yesterday, California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act o...

RLF Partner Christopher Renzulli appeared before the Connecticut Supreme Court on November 14 in the Sandy Hook case, Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC, et al.  The highly-anticipated and widely-covered oral argument represented the culmination of months of briefing on an appeal by the plaintiffs of Connecticut Judge Barbara Bellis’ decision granting a motion by the defendants to...

On April 24 2017, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Renzulli Law Firm, LLP’s clients KS&E Sports and Edward J. Ellis in a case that had been brought against them by Dwayne H. Runnels.  KS&E Sports had sold a handgun to Tarus Blackburn, who was alleged to have straw purchased it on behalf of a convicted felon, Demetrious Martin.  Two months after Bl...