{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-411.152","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 411.152","heading":"Immunity of manufacturers, sellers, and trade associations from qualified","body":"civil liability actions relating to firearms -- Exceptions -- Preemption of laws --\nPleading of claims premised on exceptions -- Special motions -- Civil action\nbrought by party harmed by claim -- Construction of state laws -- Foreign\nstates or governments -- Authority of Attorney General.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Manufacturer\" means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing a\nqualified product, including any and all owners, directors, officers, and\nemployees of a manufacturer;\n(b) \"Negligent entrustment\":\n1. Means the supplying of a qualified product by a seller for use by another\nperson when the seller knows, or reasonably should know, the person to\nwhom the product is supplied is likely to, and does, use the product in a\nmanner involving unreasonable risk of physical injury to the person or\nothers; and\n2. Does not include instances in which the harm was caused by a person\nwho was not entrusted with the qualified product directly by the seller;\n(c) \"Person\" means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm,\npartnership, society, joint stock company, or any other entity, including any\ngovernmental entity;\n(d) \"Proximate cause\" means the requirem ent that the plaintiff was directly\ninjured by the defendant's allegedly unlawful conduct;\n(e) \"Qualified civil liability action\":\n1. Means a civil action or proceeding, or an administrative proceeding, or\nany claim asserted in any action or proceeding, brought by any person\nagainst a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product, or a trade\nassociation, for damages, including punitive d amages, injunctive or\ndeclaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, penalties, or any other\nrelief, resulting from, on the basis of, arising out of, or in relation to the\ncriminal or unlawful misuse, alteration, or modification of a qualified\nproduct by the person or a third party, under any theory of liability,\nincluding but not limited to statutory claims, or claims arising from tort\nor contract; and\n2. Does not include a claim:\na. Brought against a transferor convicted under 18 U.S.C. sec.\n924(h), or a comparable or identical state felony law, by a party\ndirectly harmed by the conduct of which the transferee is\nconvicted;\nb. Brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence\nper se;\nc. In which a manufacturer or seller of a qualified pr oduct knowingly\nviolated the Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. sec. 921 et seq., the\nNational Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. sec. 5801 et seq., the Arms\nExport Control Act, 22 U.S.C. sec. 2778 et seq., or the Export\nControl Reform Act of 2018, 50 U.S.C. secs. 4801 to 48 52, or any\nequivalent state statute that is intended to and exclusively does\nimpose specific and concrete obligations on manufacturers and\nsellers regarding the manner in which qualified products are\nmanufactured, distributed, or transferred to unlicensed persons,\nincluding the obligations in KRS Chapters 237 and 527, and the\nviolation was the sole proximate cause of the harm for which relief\nis sought. This exception does not include claims premised on\nnuisance or negligence, whether based in statute or common law;\nd. For breach of contract or warranty in connection with the purchase\nof the product; or\ne. For death, physical injuries, or property damage resulting directly\nfrom a defect in design or manufacture of the product, when\nlawfully used as intended in a reasonably foreseeable manner,\nexcept that where the discharge of the product was caused by a\nvolitional act that meets the elements of a criminal offense, then\nthe act shall be considered the sole proximate cause of any\nresulting death, personal injuries, or property damage.\nThe exceptions enumerated in this subparagraph shall not be construed\nto be in conflict, and this section shall not be construed to create a public\nor private cause of action, claim, or remedy. The enumerated exceptions\nin this s ubparagraph shall be construed to limit the scope of the claims\navailable to the extent that they conflict with the statutory law or\ncommon law of this Commonwealth;\n(f) \"Qualified product\" means a firearm as defined in KRS 237.060, ammunition\nas defined in KRS 237.060, or a component part of, or an accessory intended\nfor use with, a firearm or ammunition, including but not limited to\nammunition magazines or clips, optical devices, or other products intended to\nbe included in, attached to or used while atta ched to, or in conjunction with, a\nfirearm or ammunition;\n(g) \"Seller\":\n1. Means any person engaged in the business of selling a qualified product\nat wholesale or retail, including import and export, and includes all\nowners, directors, officers, and employees of the entity; and\n2. Does not include entities that meet the definition of \"manufacturer\" in\nparagraph (a) of this subsection;\n(h) \"Trade association\" means any corporation, unincorporated association,\nfederation, business league, or professional or business organization:\n1. That is not organized or operated for profit and no part of the net\nearnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or\nindividual;\n2. That is an organization described in 26 U.S.C. sec. 501(c)(6), and\nexempt from tax under 26 U.S.C. sec. 501(a); and\n3. Two (2) or more members of which are manufacturers or sellers of a\nqualified product; and\n(i) \"Unlawful use\" means conduct that violates a statute, ordinance, or regulation\nas it relates to the use of a qualified product.\n(2) A qualified civil liability action shall not be brought against any manufacturer or\nseller of a qualified product, or trade association.\n(3) This section expressly preempts any local statutes, laws, or regulations that\nspecifically impose liabil ity on qualified product manufacturers, sellers, or trade\nassociations, or that attempt to do so in a generally applicable manner to the extent\nthe state or local law, statute, or regulation allows for civil actions, civil\nproceedings, and administrative p roceedings for damages, punitive damages,\ninjunctive or declaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, penalties, or other\nrelief resulting from criminal misuse, alteration, or modification of a qualified\nproduct under any theory of liability, including but not limited to statutory claims or\nclaims arising from tort or contract, except for causes of action expressly allowed in\nthis section.\n(4) (a) A claim premised on an exception to the immunity granted by this section\nshall plead with particularity the factual allegations providing the basis for the\napplication of the exception, including but not limited to those necessary to\nestablish scienter and proximate cause.\n(b) Any qualified civil liability action or any action involving a claim premised\non an exception to the immunity granted by subsection (1)(e)2. of this section\nshall allege particularized facts establishing that the manufacturer or seller of\na qualified product, or trade association, was the proximate cause of the\ndamages alleged. The court shall determine whether the particularized facts\nalleged by the plaintiff suffice to establish proximate cause as a matter of law.\n(c) Any manufacturer or seller of a qualified product, or trade association, shall\nbe permitted to make a special motion unde r this subsection for dismissal or\nfor entry of summary judgment in any qualified civil liability action or any\naction involving a claim premised on an exception to the immunity granted by\nthis section, which shall be heard within forty -five (45) days of t he motion. If\ndiscovery is required to rule on the motion, the court may order a discovery\nperiod not to exceed sixty (60) days and the discovery shall be limited to the\nissues of whether the action is subject to dismissal under this section. Any\ndenial of a special motion to dismiss or special motion for summary judgment\nshall be immediately appealable, the appeal shall be expedited, and the\ntimelines in this subsection shall be enforceable as of right by an action in\nmandamus in the Court of Appeals of Kentucky.\n(5) Any manufacturer or seller of a qualified product, or trade association, harmed by a\nclaim brought, maintained, or continued in violation of this section after April 14,\n2026, may initiate a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction an d may seek\nagainst any party, or the party's attorney of record:\n(a) Appropriate injunctive relief;\n(b) Actual damages;\n(c) Punitive damages if it is established that the defendant acted with actual\nmalice or with willful misconduct;\n(d) Costs; and\n(e) Reasonable attorney's fees.\n(6) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the provisions of:\n(a) KRS Chapter 367;\n(b) Any public nuisance law; or\n(c) Any general law of this Commonwealth;\nshall not be considered as statutes intended to and exclusively imposing specific\nand concrete obligations on manufacturers and sellers regarding the manner in\nwhich qualified products are manufactured, distributed, or transferred to unlicensed\npersons for purposes of this section and shall not provide a basis to circumvent the\nexplicit requirements of subsection (1)(e)2. of this section.\n(7) A qualified civil liability action may not be b rought in any court by a foreign state\nor government, and the exceptions to the immunity provided in this section shall not\napply to claims brought by a foreign state or government.\n(8) The Attorney General shall have authority to:\n(a) Enforce the provisions of this section;\n(b) Intervene in any civil action brought under this section; and\n(c) Issue guidance to carry out the provisions of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 411"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57020","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:35Z","sha256":"cc84b7589a62ede3ab5531f00e353bf6917fac66ca6829f4c3b0209106d59908","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-411.150","next":"us-ky/krs-411.155"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}