Authors

Mara Kravitz

Section 898: Targeting the Companies Behind Gun Violence in New York with Public Nuisance Doctrine

Abstract

On July 6, 2021, the New York State Legislature enacted sections 898-a to -e of the New York General Business Law (section 898), creating a clear path for public entities and private gun violence victims to sue gun industry members for their role in the gun violence public nuisance in New York. This Note explores why the legislature took a public nuisance approach to curbing gun violence, framing section 898 within public nuisance doctrine’s broader common law history and legal elements.

To unpack how and why New York took this approach, the first Part of this Note traces the history of public nuisance doctrine from its origin in medieval common law, through modern applications, into gun violence lawsuits in New York, and finally, into section 898. To understand why this approach is legally useful, Parts II and III compare the elements of common law public nuisance doctrine to the elements of section 898 and explore constitutional issues, respectively.

This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.

Repository Citation

Mara Kravitz, Section 898: Targeting the Companies Behind Gun Violence in New York with Public Nuisance Doctrine, 65 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1507 (2024), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol65/iss6/5