Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 3930 – Civil action for public nuisance by firearm industry member
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Firearm industry member” means a person engaged in the sale, manufacturing, distribution, importing, or marketing of a firearm-related product.
(2) “Firearm-related product” means a product that meets any of the following conditions:
a. The product was sold, made, distributed, or marketed in this State.
b. The product was intended to be sold, made, distributed, or marketed in this State.
c. The product was possessed in this State, and it was reasonably foreseeable that the product would be possessed or used in this State.
(3) “Firearm trafficker” means a person who acquires, transfers, or attempts to acquire or transfer a firearm for purposes of unlawful commerce.
(4) “Product” means a firearm; ammunition; a firearm component, including unfinished firearm frames or receivers, as defined under § 222 of Title 11; or a firearm accessory.
(5) “Public nuisance” means a condition which injures, endangers, or threatens to injure or endanger or contributes to the injury or endangerment of the health, safety, peace, comfort, or convenience of others or otherwise constitutes a public nuisance under common law.
(6) “Reasonable controls” means reasonable procedures, safeguards, and business practices that are designed to do all of the following:
a. Prevent the sale or distribution of a firearm-related product to a straw purchaser, a firearm trafficker, a person prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law, or a person who the firearm industry member has reasonable cause to believe is at substantial risk of using a firearm-related product to harm themselves or unlawfully harm another or of unlawfully possessing or using a firearm-related product.
b. Prevent the loss of a firearm-related product or theft of a firearm-related product from a firearm industry member.
c. Ensure that the firearm industry member complies with all provisions of state and federal law and does not otherwise promote the unlawful manufacture, sale, possession, marketing, or use of a firearm-related product.
d. Ensure that the firearm industry member does not engage in an act or practice in violation of subchapter II or subchapter III of Chapter 25 of Title 6.
(7) a. “Straw purchaser” means an individual who conceals, or intends to conceal, from a person that the purchase of a firearm-related product is being made on behalf of a third party.
b. “Straw purchaser” does not include a bona fide gift to a person who is not prohibited by law from possessing or receiving a firearm-related product. For purposes of this paragraph (7)b., a gift to a person is not a bona fide gift if the person has offered or given the purchaser a service or thing of value to acquire the firearm-related product for the person.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 3930
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- United States: includes its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) A firearm industry member, by conduct unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all the circumstances, may not knowingly or recklessly create, maintain, or contribute to a public nuisance through the sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of a firearm-related product.
(c) A firearm industry member shall establish and implement reasonable controls regarding the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, and marketing of the firearm industry member’s firearm-related products.
(d) A violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section is a public nuisance.
(e) A firearm industry member’s conduct constitutes a proximate cause of the public nuisance if the harm to the public is a reasonably foreseeable effect of the conduct, notwithstanding any intervening actions, including criminal actions by third parties.
(f) Whenever it appears to the Attorney General that a firearm industry member has engaged in or is engaging in conduct in violation of this section, the Attorney General may commence an action to seek and obtain any of the following:
(1) An injunction prohibiting the firearm industry member from continuing the conduct or engaging in the conduct or doing any acts in furtherance of the conduct.
(2) An order providing for abatement of the nuisance at the expense of the firearm industry member.
(3) Restitution.
(4) Compensatory and punitive damages.
(5) Reasonable attorneys’ fees, filing fees, and reasonable costs of the action.
(6) Any other appropriate relief.
(g) (1) A person that has been damaged as a result of a firearm industry member’s acts or omissions in violation of this section may commence an action to seek and obtain any of the following:
a. Injunctive relief.
b. Compensatory and punitive damages.
c. Reasonable attorneys’ fees, filing fees, and reasonable costs of the action.
(2) If a person commences an action under paragraph (g)(1) of this section, the person shall within 5 days of filing the complaint notify the Attorney General of the filing of the complaint and provide the Attorney General with a copy of the complaint and any other documents or pleadings filed with the complaint.
(h) To prevail in an action under this section, the party seeking relief is not required to demonstrate that the firearm industry member acted with the intent to engage in a public nuisance or otherwise cause harm to the public.
(i) This section may not be construed or implied to limit or impair in any way any of the following:
(1) The right of a person to pursue a legal action under any other law, including Chapter 25 of Title 6.
(2) An obligation or requirement placed on a firearm industry member by any other law.
(j) This section must be construed and applied in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of the Delaware and the United States Constitutions.
(k) Nothing in this section is intended to restrict or alter the availability of an action for relief from or to remedy a public nuisance at common law.