Opinion ID: 2969190
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Native Leather

Text: Plaintiff Native Leather operates a retail store in Manhattan, where it sells, among other things, common folding knives. Plaintiffs allege that in June 2010, defendant Vance initiated enforcement actions against numerous New York City knife retailers, claiming that an undercover investigation had revealed the retailers’ sale of proscribed gravity knives. Many retailers resolved these actions by agreeing to pay fines, totaling an aggregate of nearly $1.9 million; to surrender various folding knives in their inventories; and to refrain from future sales of gravity knives. Seven retailers, including Native Leather, did so by entering into deferred prosecution agreements. Under its agreement, Native Leather not only paid a monetary fine and forfeited certain folding knives, but also adopted a compliance program approved by the district attorney’s office and pledged “to permanently cease and desist” from selling any prohibited gravity knives in the future. J.A. 251. 9 Pursuant to its compliance program, Native Leather has a designated employee test each common folding knife in its inventory by making several attempts to open the knife by means of a wrist‐flicking action. Native Leather only sells common folding knives that the designated employee cannot flick open on even a single attempt. Although most provisions of Native Leather’s deferred prosecution agreement have now expired, it asserts that it maintains its compliance program “to avoid running afoul” of defendants’ interpretation of the statutory prohibition of gravity knives. Am. Compl. ¶ 45. At the same time, it professes concern that its program cannot assure that “some other person” will not be able to flick open one of its knives despite its own employee’s inability to do so. Id. Thus, it complains that, while it wishes to sell a wide assortment of common folding knives, it does not do so because it cannot confidently determine which such knives defendants will deem “gravity knives” in violation of § 265.01(1).