NRA Legal Disasters

Word is that the board is being fed rah-rah routines about legal victories, in which major defeats are swept under the rug and wins on minor motions are described as great wins. We tried to compile a full list, probably missed a few, but the truth is that NRA has been spending $40 million or more a year in legal fees, mostly to one small law firm, in exchange for a long string of courtroom disasters.

New York’s Regulatory Suit Over Carry Guard Insurance. NRA agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine. and not to sell insurance in NY for 5 years Loss.

Federal Civil Rights lawsuit Against New York Officials, claiming selective enforcement, a political vendetta, and interference with NRA’s banking relationships. NRA had to dismiss the case. Loss.

Lawsuit To Stop the NY Attorney General from Getting Ackerman McQueen Records. The court ruled against NRA. Loss.

Lawsuit Over Chris Cox Severance Agreement. Cox, the purged Executive Director of NRA-ILA, had a severance agreement which NRA leadership refused to honor. The issue went to arbitration, then NRA sued the arbitrator’s firm and Cox’s law firm. In the bankruptcy case it came out that NRA had spent $8 million in legal fees to fight over $2 million at issue. The new arbitrator ruled against NRA, the trial court uphold that, and NRA has now appealed (after dismissing case against the law firm; odds of another loss are almost certain). Loss.

Virginia Lawsuit Against Ackerman McQueen. No activity in the case in over a year. Loss.

Texas Federal Lawsuit Against Ackerman McQueen. So far, a success only in generating legal fees for the attorneys. No fewer than 13 Brewer Firm attorneys have made appearances, over 300 pleadings have been filed to date. NRA attorneys withdrew from settlement talks (and the Ackerman attorneys had some choice words about them). Major events so far: the court ruled that Ackerman could take the depositions of Bill Brewer (and his wife Sky) and that he accordingly could not argue the case. Not Yet a Loss, Just a Huge Drain of Money.

Attempt to Turn All Its Lawsuits Into One Federal Multidistrict Litigation. The federal panel that handles this refused. Loss.

Bankruptcy Case. We don’t have to sum that one up. A complete legal disaster that should never have been filed. The judge dismissed it, and said that if NRA ever comes back, there were many things he’d want to investigate, including the attorneys. A loss, no a disaster.

Lawsuit to Dissolve the NRA. Not going well for NRA leadership. The judge has denied NRA’s motion to dismiss or transfer the suit, the Attorney General has filed a damning amended complaint, she’s collected thousands of pages of evidence, and leadership and board keeps on strengthening her hand. A probable future loss, that will finish the organization.

Legal victories? We don’t think so. The attorney to whom we showed this said, “I hope their malpractice policies are current.” He added, “and the board’s policies are, too.”