2003 SESSION

03-0866

06/09

HOUSE BILL 249

COMMITTEE: Judiciary

ANALYSIS

This bill limits the liability of manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages resulting from the misuse of their products by others.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-0866

06/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Purpose. The purpose of this act is to:

I. Prohibit civil liability causes of action against manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms or ammunition for the harm caused by the criminal or unlawful misuse of their products by others.

II. Preserve a citizen's access to a supply of firearms and ammunition for all lawful purposes, including hunting, self-defense, collecting, and competitive or recreational shooting.

2 New Section; Liability Limitation for Manufacturers, Distributors, Dealers, or Importers of Firearms or Ammunition. Amend RSA 508 by inserting after section 20 the following new section:

508:21 Liability Limited; Manufacturers, Distributors, Dealers, or Importers of Firearms or Ammunition.

I. In this section:

(a) "Manufacturer" means:

(1) A person who is engaged in a business to import, make, produce, create, or assemble a qualified product, and who designs or formulates, or has engaged another person to design or formulate, a qualified product.

(2) A seller of a qualified product, but only with respect to an aspect of the product that is made or affected when the seller makes, produces, creates, or assembles and designs or formulates an aspect of the product made by another person.

(3) Any seller of a qualified product who represents to a user of a qualified product that the seller is a manufacturer of the qualified product.

(b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, or any other entity, including any governmental entity.

(c) "Qualified product" means a firearm or ammunition or a component part of a firearm or ammunition, that has been shipped or transported in intrastate, interstate, or foreign commerce.

(d) "Qualified civil liability action" means a civil action brought by any person against a manufacturer or seller or a trade association of a qualified product, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a qualified product by the person or a third party, but shall not include an action brought against a manufacturer, seller, or trade organization convicted of a felony under state or federal law, by a party directly harmed by the felonious conduct.

(e) "Seller" means, with respect to a qualified product, a person who:

(1) In the course of a business conducted for that purpose sells, distributes, rents, leases, prepares, blends, packages, labels, or otherwise is involved in placing a qualified product in the stream of commerce.

(2) Installs, repairs, refurbishes, reconditions, or maintains an aspect of a qualified product that is alleged to have resulted in damages.

(f) "Trade association" means a federal, state, or local trade association which has one or more members which are manufacturers or sellers of a qualified product.

II. A qualified civil liability action shall not be brought in any state court. A qualified civil liability action that is pending on the effective date of this act shall be dismissed immediately by the court in which the action was brought.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2004.