Upcoming Conference on Firearms Litigation
On December 1st, the Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law is hosting what will be a very fascinating conference: Firearms Litigation: Liability, Regulation, and the Constitution. We are delighted to team up with the Center on Civil Justice and co-cosponsor the event with the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School. The conference runs from 1pm to 5pm and is free and open to the public. Register here!
Below is the tentative schedule:
Panel 1: Liability Litigation: Products, Preemption , and the PLCAA
Suits for damages by private parties against gun manufacturers and others raise a number of important legal questions. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which bars suits against gun manufacturer absent a “predicate exception,” will be centered, and its interpretation raises numerous interesting issues, from intent of the drafters to federalism more broadly. Conflict between the Second Circuit in Beretta and the Connecticut Supreme Court in Soto, which differ on the breadth of the PLCAA’s “predicate exception” and the extent to which a statute a gun manufacturer is accused of violating must directly regulate firearms, will lay a framework for discussion.
Moderator: Abbe Gluck (Yale)
Panelists (in formation): Mark Lanier (Lanier Law Firm), Alla Lefkowitz (Everytown), Timothy Lytton (Georgia State)
Panel 2: Constitutional Litigation
Challenges to federal, state, and local laws and regulations raise Second Amendment issues and Federalism-related policy questions. We will exam the legal and Constitutional issues presented in litigation over gun rights in the face of regulation and legislation.
Moderator: Adam Skaggs (Giffords)
Panelists (in formation): Joseph Blocher (Duke), Bob Cottrol (GW), Mary Anne Franks (Miami), Deepak Gupta (Gupta Wessler), David Kopel (Independence Institute)
Panel 3: The Future of Litigation Strategies
The ultimate question of the conference is how litigation -- both affirmative and defensive -- should look. We will look at strategies invoked by practicing counsel, as well as procedural rules the courts should apply, and statutory policy recommendations that would govern the scope and shape of litigation.
Moderator: Darrell Miller (Duke)
Panelists (in formation): Christopher Boehning (Paul Weiss), Evan Chesler (Cravath), Troy McKenzie (NYU), Erin Murphy (Kirkland), Hannah Shearer (Giffords)