Craig Livingston Advances PLCAA in Kansas Supreme Court

​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).

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