​On April 25, 2025, Livingston Law Firm shareholder Craig Livingston, a national expert on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, a federal firearms manufacturer and seller immunity statute, secured a decision in his clients’ favor from the Kansas Supreme Court. (Marquise Johnson v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta, S.p.A. and Beretta U.S.A. Corp., No. 126,314.) In this product liability suit involving serious permanent injuries, the unanimous court found that the PLCAA barred plaintiff’s strict liability and negligence claims against the firearm’s importer and seller because the underlying accidental shooting resulted from a “volitional act that constituted a criminal offense,” the key PLCAA language at issue. The court’s decision reversed a divided Kansas appellate court ruling that overturned a successful summary judgment ruling in favor of the firearm importer/seller. The Johnson decision comes on the heels of another state high court PLCAA decision in Gustafson v. Springfield, Inc. et al., No. 7 WAP 2023 (April 9, 2025) [Pennsylvania Supreme Court], a case in which Craig filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. Both Johnson and Gustafson cited and relied upon a landmark PLCAA ruling Craig obtained from the Illinois Supreme Court in Adames v. Sheahan, 233 Ill. 2d 276 (2009).

Managing Shareholder Renée Welze Livingston is a featured speaker at the Bay Area Women Lawyer’s Network Retreat taking place this weekend at the Silverado Resort in Napa. The blockbuster event kicks off Friday afternoon with an extraordinary panel of national chief justices presenting “When There Are Nine.”  Ms. Livingston will speak Saturday morning with other “Fearless Founders” who had the vision, courage and tenacity to start their own women-owned law firms. Livingston Law Firm celebrates its 25th anniversary this year as a WBE and proud member of @The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF).
 
Since its inception in 2020, this multi-day women lawyer’s retreat has attracted women judges and lawyers in a relaxed setting where they can learn, share, mentor, inspire and collaborate with women leaders and entrepreneurs.  

​
​Livingston Law Firm Shareholders John C. Hentschel and Crystal L. Van Der Putten will be speaking at separate programs at the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Neveda’s upcoming 65th Annual Meeting on December 5-6, 2024, in San Francisco.

John is a panelist on “Expert Depositions: Tips and Tricks from Disclosure through Deposition.”  Managing expert witnesses effectively is crucial to the success of any case.  This program provides practical guidance for attorneys on handling expert witnesses from expert disclosure through deposition, incorporating both plaintiff and defense perspectives, as well as the expert witness standpoint.  
​
Crystal will be speaking on “Second Chairing Your First Trial: What You Need to Know to Best Support Your Lead Attorney”.  Being a second chair attorney at trial is an important role for young attorneys in particular and the program will provide tips on how to do so successfully.  Topics include the role of the second chair in preparing for trial, how to handle procedural issues during trial, and the importance of knowing the case inside out.  

Shareholder Craig Livingston moderated a panel discussion entitled, “Telematics Data Collection: Be Careful What You Ask For (And Collect),” at the Fall Conference of the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) in Tucson, Arizona on October 25, 2024. The all-star panel included industry experts and litigators who discussed the current capabilities in telematics data collection for large construction and agricultural equipment manufacturers, including such things as geofencing and remote equipment lock-outs, and the potential legal implications associated with collecting and storing this type of information. The panel also discussed the possibility of new legal theories which would attempt to create a duty on the part of manufacturers to affirmatively use such data to prevent product misuse. This program marked the first at a PLAC conference by members of the newly formed Heavy Equipment Group, a practice area committee created to address legal and regulatory issues faced by in-house and outside counsel in the construction and agricultural equipment space. Craig currently serves as Co-Chair – Sustaining Members on the PLAC Board of Directors. 

​Livingston Law Firm was recognized by the Contra Costa County Bar Association for its 2023 diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the legal community and throughout Contra Costa County. CCCBA began recognizing law firms in 2017 that cultivate diversity, equity and inclusion through internal, external and recruiting activities, and LLF has received the award each year! Crystal Van Der Putten accepted the silver level award on behalf of the firm at the CCCBA annual installation luncheon.

Livingston Law Firm shareholders Craig Livingston and Crystal Van Der Putten today filed an amicus curiae brief in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of client The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. in the case of Gustafson v. Springfield Inc., et al. At issue in Gustafson is the application of the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) [15 U.S.C. §§ 7901, et seq.] to a wrongful death action in which a Springfield Arms pistol was used by a teenage boy who accidentally shot and killed his friend and who was thereafter adjudicated a delinquent minor for involuntary manslaughter. Congress enacted the PLCAA in 2005 to prevent lawsuits against manufacturers and sellers of firearms and ammunition when those products are unlawfully or criminally misused. The trial court dismissed the case citing the PLCAA, but the intermediate appellate court reversed. The reversal was upheld by an en banc panel. In its supreme court brief, LLF argued that the product liability exception in the PLCAA – an exception allowing traditional design and manufacturing defect claims to proceed – was inapplicable because the underlying shooting death was the result of a volitional act which constituted a criminal offense, even though the shooter believed the pistol was unloaded when he pointed it at the decedent and deliberately pulled the trigger. Further briefing in the Pennsylvania supreme court is expected and a decision is unlikely until later this year.  

Congratulations to LLF shareholders Crystal L. Van Der Putten and John C. Hentschel.  After five years of litigation, a directed verdict on alleged actual damages and business torts, and a 3+ week jury trial in Contra Costa County Superior Court, they received a defense verdict in a defamation per se action that included allegations of conspiracy. The key questions in the case were whether various statements the defendant made were actionable defamation and whether the other two named defendants conspired with her to defame plaintiffs. In less than six hours of deliberation, the jury determined the statements were not defamatory. Because the jury found no defamation, there could be no conspiracy.  As such, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants. LLF recovered $110,000 in expert fees and costs. Fairmont Riding Club, et al. v. Pestana, et al. (Contra Costa County Superior Court Case No. MSC17-00630).