SCALES, J.
Appellants, plaintiffs below, Nelson Martinez, Sr. and Maria Martinez are the parents of Nelson Martinez, Jr. (Nelson) and are the co-personal representatives of Nelsons estate, which is also a co-appellant. They seek review of a final summary judgment that concluded, as a matter of law, that defendants, Taurus International Manufacturing, Inc. and Taurus Holdings, Inc. (together, Taurus) are immune from appellants wrongful death action by virtue of 15 U.S.C. § 7903(5)(A), the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (the Act). We reverse the trial courts summary judgment because genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether appellants lawsuit is a qualified civil liability action that would trigger the Acts immunity provision.
I. Relevant Facts and Procedural Background
A. Introduction
In February of 2014, twenty-one-year-old Nelson purchased a Taurus .45 caliber model PT24/7 pistol from a pawn shop in Hialeah, Florida. Nelson lived in an efficiency apartment with his sister and her husband, and late in the night of May 1, 2014, Nelson took the pistol into the apartments bathroom and locked the door. The pistol discharged and Nelson died as a result of a gunshot wound to his head, the bullet having entered through his left eye.
While both the Hialeah Police Department and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner concluded that Nelson committed suicide, Nelsons parents and his estate brought the instant lawsuit against Taurus alleging that a pistol defect caused Nelsons death.
B. Relevant Background Facts
When Nelson purchased the pistol in February of 2014, he was required, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922, to complete, under penalty of perjury, ATF Form 4473 entitled Firearms Transaction Record Part I - Over-the-Counter. A question on this form asked whether Nelson was a user of marijuana (and other drugs). He responded no. The record reflects, though, that Nelson had a history of alcohol and marijuana use, including an arrest for possession of marijuana in 2011. In December of 2013, two months before his purchase of the pistol, Nelson admitted marijuana use to his primary care physician (this admission appears on the history portion of an intake form). In depositions, his family members admitted to Nelsons periodic marijuana use.
The Medical Examiners toxicology report indicates the presence of apparently unprescribed controlled substances of the Benzodiazepine class (Alprazolem, Diazepam and Nordiazepam), as well as alcohol, in Nelsons system at the time of his death.
C. The Instant Lawsuit
Appellants filed the instant lawsuit in April of 2016. In their operative complaint, appellants allege that, because of a defective design, the pistol had no effective safety device to prevent an unintended discharge. Specifically, appellants allege that Nelsons pistol had a drop-fire defect, meaning that when the pistol was dropped from the height of its ordinary use, the pistol would discharge, and that Taurus did not warn Nelson of this alleged defect.
Taurus moved for summary judgment pursuant to a provision of the Act that provides immunity from civil liability for gun manufacturers and sellers for incidents arising out of the criminal use or other unlawful misuse of a gun. In granting Tauruss motion for summary judgment, the trial court held that the Act immunized Taurus from liability because Nelson purchased the pistol under false pretenses and continued to possess the pistol while taking illegal drugs. This appeal ensued.
II. Analysis
A. The Relevant Provisions of the Act
In 2005, Congress adopted the Act to, among other things, insulate gun manufacturers from civil liability for harm caused by those who criminally or unlawfully use firearm products ... that function as designed and intended. 15 U.S.C. § 7901(a)(5). To effectuate this purpose, the Act prohibits any qualified civil liability action from being brought in any Federal or State court. 15 U.S.C. § 7902(a).
The Act defines a qualified civil liability action as a civil action or proceeding ... brought by any person against a manufacturer or seller of a qualified product ... for damages ... resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a qualified product by the person or a third party .... 15 U.S.C. § 7903(5)(A). The Act defines unlawful misuse as conduct that violates a statute, ordinance, or regulation as it relates to the use of a qualified product. 15 U.S.C. § 7903(9).
Congress exempted six classes of lawsuits from the definition of a qualified civil liability action. 15 U.S.C. § 7903(5)(A)(i)-(vi). Potentially pertinent to the instant case is the exemption in subsection (v), which exempts from the Acts grant of immunity those civil actions:
resulting directly from a defect in design or manufacture of the product, when used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable manner, except that where the discharge of the product was caused by a volitional act that constituted a criminal offense, then such act shall be considered the sole proximate cause of any resulting death, personal injuries or property damage ....
15 U.S.C. § 7903(5)(A)(v) (the Defect Exception).
B. Tauruss Summary Judgment Burden
Under this statutory framework, in order for Taurus to receive immunity under the Act, Taurus must establish that (i) appellants lawsuit constitutes a qualified civil liability action, and (ii) if the lawsuit does qualify as such an action, none of the statutorily prescribed exemptions are applicable.
Of course, for the trial court to make an immunity determination at the summary judgment stage, Taurus must establish the absence of any genuine issue of material fact as to each of these elements. Copeland v. Fla. New Invs. Corp., 905 So.2d 979, 980 (Fla. 2005). For our purposes, if we find that a disputed issue of fact exists regarding whether appellants lawsuit is a qualified civil liability action, we need not reach the issue of whether one of the Acts exemptions is applicable. See Morales v. Hialeah Hous. Auth., 149 So.3d 699, 699 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).
C. The Trial Courts Summary Judgment for Taurus
In granting summary judgment for Taurus, the trial court determined, as a matter of law, both that: (i) appellants lawsuit was a qualified civil liability action, and (ii) the Defect Exception was inapplicable. We focus on the trial courts determination that appellants lawsuit is a qualified civil liability action, i.e., that appellants lawsuit seeks damages for conduct that violates a statute, ordinance or regulation as it relates to the use of a qualified product. 18 U.S.C. § 7903(9).
The trial courts conclusion in this regard is premised upon two distinct factual findings incorporated into the trial courts order: (1) that Nelsons purchase of the pistol - after Nelson had denied drug use on his federal application form - was a criminal or unlawful misuse of the pistol in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6), and (2) Nelsons continued ownership and possession of the pistol after purchase constituted criminal or unlawful misuse of the pistol presumably in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3). We address each of these conclusions, and Tauruss arguments supporting them, in turn.
1. Nelsons Purchase of the Pistol
With regard to Tauruss first contention (i.e., that Nelson purchased the pistol in violation of law), Taurus cites to 18 U.S.C. § 922 which: (i) requires all handgun purchasers to answer, under oath, certain specific questions, any one of which may be disqualifying if answered falsely, see 18 U.S.C. § 922 (a)(6) ; (ii) authorizes ATF to promulgate ATF Form 4473 to effectuate such disclosures; and (iii) further makes it illegal for any person to purchase a firearm when that person is an unlawful user of a controlled substance, see 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3). Indeed, when Nelson purchased the firearm, he was asked in question 11(e) of ATF Form 4473: Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressive, stimulant, narcotic, or any other controlled substance? The trial court concluded that Nelsons answer no to this question constituted perjury and therefore, as a matter of law, appellants lawsuit is a qualified civil liability action because it seeks damages for Nelsons unlawful misuse of the pistol.
While the record certainly contains circumstantial evidence that tends to support Tauruss argument that Nelson committed perjury by answering no to this question, the record also contains evidence from which a finder of fact could conclude that, at the time Nelson purchased the pistol, he was not an unlawful user of any controlled substance. While the term unlawful user of a controlled substance is not specifically defined in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), federal courts have interpreted the term to mean regular and ongoing use of a controlled substance during the same time period as the firearm possession. See, e.g., United States v. Edmonds, 348 F.3d 950, 953-54 (11th Cir. 2003). We are unable to conclude that Taurus has established the nonexistence of any material fact as to whether, at the time Nelson purchased the pistol, Nelson was a regular and ongoing user of a controlled substance.
2. Nelsons Continued Possession of the Pistol
Taurus also argues, and the trial court also concluded, that, after his purchase of the pistol, Nelsons continued possession of the pistol constituted an ongoing violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) because Nelson allegedly consumed illegal drugs during this period. Again, while the assembled facts at the summary judgment stage plainly demonstrate that Nelson used illegal drugs prior to his February 2014 purchase of the pistol, the summary judgment record does not conclusively establish that Nelson was an unlawful drug user after the purchase of the pistol. Although the toxicology report indicates that unprescribed controlled substances were found in Nelsons system at the time of his death, there is no evidence in the record regarding when these drugs were ingested or how long they remain in ones system. See Estate of Marimon v. Fla. Power & Light Co., 787 So.2d 887, 890 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001) (On review, we must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and must draw all competing inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.). Additionally, given Nelsons sisters deposition testimony that Nelsons use of drugs was sporadic and wasnt often, a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Nelson was an unlawful user of controlled substances - that is, whether Nelson was a regular and ongoing user of controlled substances - while Nelson possessed the firearm. Edmonds, 348 F.3d at 953. Such disputed facts preclude summary judgment.
III. Conclusion
In sum, based on our de novo review of the summary judgment evidence, we are unable to conclude, as a matter of law, that Nelson acquired the subject pistol in violation of a statute or that he continued to possess the pistol in violation of a statute. Therefore, without reaching the issue of whether such violations of statute would constitute the requisite unlawful misuse of a firearm so as to characterize the instant lawsuit as a qualified civil liability action, we are compelled to reverse the trial courts conclusion that appellants lawsuit constitutes such an action.
Having found that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether the instant action is a qualified civil liability action for the purposes of the Act, we need not, and therefore do not, reach the issue of whether the Defect Exception of 15 U.S.C. § 7903(5)(A)(v) is applicable.
Reversed and remanded with instructions.
Three defendants are named in the Complaint: (i) Forjas Taurus, S.A., a Brazilian gun manufacturer; (ii) Taurus Holdings, Inc., an American subsidiary of Forjas Taurus; and (iii) Taurus International Manufacturing, Inc., another American subsidiary of Forjas Taurus. While not entirely clear from the record, it appears that service was not obtained as to Forjas Taurus.
We review de novo a trial courts summary judgment. Perez-Gurri Corp. v. McLeod, 238 So.3d 347, 349 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017).
The trial court also summarily concluded that the Defect Exception was inapplicable, determining that the sole proximate cause of Nelsons damages was Nelsons purchase, ownership and continuing possession of the Subject Pistol under false pretenses when he was legally prohibited from the same by virtue of his drug use. Because we find the summary judgment record contains genuine issues of disputed fact as to the threshold issue of whether appellants lawsuit constituted a qualified civil liability action, we need not, and therefore do not, reach the trial courts conclusion that the Defect Exception is inapplicable.
While the trial courts order does not expressly identify the statute, ordinance or regulation violated either by Nelsons purchase of the pistol or Nelsons continued post-purchase possession and ownership of the pistol, the trial court most certainly concluded summarily that both Nelsons purchase and his post-purchase possession of the pistol were unlawful. These conclusions form the critical portion of the trial courts determination that appellants lawsuit is a qualified civil liability action. Taurus identifies 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6) and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), respectively, as the specific statutes Nelson allegedly violated by his purchase of the pistol and his post-purchase possession and ownership of the pistol.
The record contains a Medical Examiners report tracing Nelsons history of drug use. It is bolstered by later testimony of family members that they had knowledge of Nelsons marijuana use. The evidence indicates a pattern of drug use leading up to Nelsons purchase of the pistol, while there is an absence of evidence that his drug use had stopped. The toxicology report from the night he died - three months after the purchase of the pistol - indicates three apparently unprescribed Benzodiazepine-class drugs in his system.
The record evidence of Nelsons marijuana use pre-dates his February 2014 purchase of the pistol. Nelsons drug-use admissions during treatment at a psychiatric facility occurred between 2006 and 2008. His arrest for possession occurred in 2011. His admission of past marijuana use on a medical form occurred in December of 2013. In deposition testimony, Nelsons sister maintained that Nelson was not a user and that his marijuana use was sporadic and wasnt often. Further, the use of apparently unprescribed Benzodiazepines found in Nelsons system from the night he died are not traced back to the time period when he purchased the pistol.