In layman’s terms: The plaintiffs in this case are asking the court to end the lawsuit and come to a conclusion on New Jersey’s ban on carrying hollow-point ammo.
After more than a year of little forward movement, plaintiffs in a case challenging New Jersey’s ban on carrying hollow-point ammunition filed for summary judgment on March 12.
(A move for summary judgment often occurs where there are no genuine disputes over the material facts and attempts to resolve a case without a trial.)
Bergmann-Schoch v. Platkin was filed over a year ago on February 4, 2025, as we reported. The suit was filed on behalf of a private citizen, Heidi Bergmann-Schoch, joined by the Coalition of New Jersey Firearms Owners (CNJFO), Gun Owners Foundation, and Gun Owners of America.
Over the past year little material progress has been made other than the defendant’s answer to the complaint and standard discovery. There have been numerous scheduling conferences and orders including amending and extending deadlines.
In their memorandum supporting the summary judgment motion, the plaintiffs make the following arguments:
Dating only to 1978, the challenged statute is an extreme outlier, both historically and nationally. Indeed, the Framers never restricted the types of ammunition people could carry. The same is true of the Reconstruction generation, which saw the introduction of conical bullets, brass cartridges, and thereafter hollow point ammunition, but never banned any of it for public carry. And, consistent with this uniform history, no other state today has enacted a hollow point ban like New Jersey’s. If there were ever an outlier firearm regulation, this would be it. The challenged statute violates the Second Amendment, it should be declared unconstitutional, and its continued enforcement should be enjoined.
According to the docket, the court officially closed all discovery in the case and established the following briefing schedule for summary judgment motions:
- Plaintiffs must file their motion for summary judgment by March 12, 2026.
- Defendants must file their cross-motion for summary judgment and opposition to the plaintiffs’ motion by April 9, 2026.
- Plaintiffs must file their combined opposition to the defendants’ cross-motion and reply in support of their own motion by May 7, 2026.
- Defendants must file their reply brief by May 28, 2026.
