National Review Publishes Editorial in Support of NRA’s Legal Advocacy
On January 8, 2020, the National Review published an editorial by legal writer Walter Olson that supports the legal advocacy of the firm and its client, the National Rifle Association.
In the editorial, “Progressive Governments’ Economic War on the NRA Fails in Court,” Olson addresses efforts by government officials in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York to "take down the hated National Rifle Association by targeting its pocketbook."
Olson observes that San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York are "facing a legal reckoning in court, based not on the Second Amendment but on the First. Without needing to even consider the issue of gun rights, federal courts are recognizing that boycotts enforced by government power can menace free speech and free association."
Olson places particular emphasis on the NRA’s advocacy against Governor Cuomo and New York State regulators. He observes, “While Cuomo was of course free to express his own views, the Constitution would have something to say about it if he or his appointees had made veiled threats against banks and insurers to encourage them to disassociate from the NRA.”
New York Law Journal Reports on New Documents Obtained in Case Against State of New York
On December 23, 2019, the New York Law Journal published the report, “NRA Secures New Documents in Bid to Revive Selective Enforcement Claims Against NY Officials.” The report states that the NRA "says it’s obtained new information that proves state officials in New York acted deliberately, and unlawfully, to strangle the gun lobby group of its financial resources because of its positions on gun control measures."
“The NRA has troubling new information that underscores the true motives of the State’s actions,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for the NRA. “Our client is determined to bring this evidence to light – to expose the backroom meetings and communications that were essential to Defendant’s scheme to silence and harm the NRA by any means necessary.”
According to a December 20 legal filing, documents obtained by the NRA show the state singled out its insurance products for sanctions while ignoring other policies with similar violations.
The Journal reports that evidence from those documents was included in a new version of the NRA’s lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state Department of Financial Services, and Maria Vullo, the former superintendent of that agency.
New York Times Magazine Profiles NRA, Firm Advocacy
A New York Times Magazine profile story from December 22, 2019, “Inside Wayne LaPierre’s Battle for the NRA,” reports about various lawsuits and investigations being successfully managed by the firm’s client, the National Rifle Association.
Since March 2018, the firm has represented the NRA on a broad range of legal and regulatory issues, including a well-publicized First Amendment case against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services. The article provides an in-depth look into a myriad of important matters, and features interviews with NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and firm Managing Partner William Brewer.
NRA Achieves Victory in San Francisco
As chronicled in various media reports, Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) achieved a victory in San Francisco, after Mayor London Breed formally disavowed key provisions of a municipal resolution that signaled the blacklisting of contractors linked to the gun group.
On September 3, 2019, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution that called for the City to investigate ties between its contractors and vendors and the NRA. The city declared the NRA was a "domestic terrorist organization."
On September 9, 2019, the NRA filed a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco and members of the Board of Supervisors. The lawsuit alleges violations of the NRA’s First Amendment rights, along with other related constitutional claims.
Rather than await a decision from a court, on September 23, 2019, San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued a formal memorandum to City officials, declaring that "no [municipal] department will take steps to restrict any contractor from doing business with the NRA or to restrict City contracting opportunities for any business that has any relationship with the NRA."
"The memo serves as a clear concession and a well-deserved win for the First and Second Amendments of the United States Constitution," says William A. Brewer III, the NRA’s outside counsel. "It is unfortunate that in today’s polarized times, some elected officials would rather silence opposing arguments than engage in good-faith debate. The NRA is America’s oldest civil rights organization – and won’t stand for that."
Brewer Client NRA Sues City of San Francisco
The New York Times reported that Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors client the National Rifle Association (NRA) sued San Francisco on September 9, 2019, for allegedly violating the NRA’s First Amendment speech rights after the city’s board of supervisors declared the NRA a terrorist organization.
William Brewer, the NRA’s outside counsel, called the city’s action “an assault on all advocacy organizations across the country.”
The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court in San Francisco. The Times reported that the suit alleges that the city moved to “blacklist anyone linked to the N.R.A.” The suit also called the designation a “frivolous insult” but contended that “San Francisco’s actions pose a nonfrivolous constitutional threat.”
“In the face of recent, similar blacklisting schemes,” the lawsuit continued, “financial institutions have expressed reluctance to provide bank accounts for disfavored political groups, and city contractors fear losing their livelihoods if they support or even work with the N.R.A.”
The Washington Post also reported on the lawsuit, noting that the NRA alleges the resolution is “obviously unconstitutional.”
Brewer Client NRA Takes Step Forward in New York Lawsuit
An article from the New York Law Journal, “NRA Could Obtain Internal State Documents in Lawsuit Against Cuomo, DFS, After US Judge’s Review,” dated August 9, 2019, reports that a “series of documents that state officials from New York have wanted to withhold from the National Rifle Association in its lawsuit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a state agency will be reviewed by a federal judge in the coming weeks and could ultimately be disclosed to the gun lobby group.”
“For months, Gov. Cuomo and DFS have tried to conceal from the public, and the court, documents demonstrating the state’s internal rationale for its blacklisting campaign against the NRA,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for the NRA. “The NRA will aggressively pursue all the facts and press every advantage in this important advocacy.”
Brewer added, “This decision is a positive development for the NRA and its millions of members.”
The article states that the NRA is suing Cuomo, the Department of Financial Services and its former Superintendent Maria Vullo over claims that they “deliberately infringed on the group’s First Amendment rights through state actions.”
NRA Allowed to Depose Former DFS Superintendent - New York Law Journal
The New York Law Journal reports that the National Rifle Association will be allowed to depose former New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo in the group’s lawsuit against the state over what it has argued was a violation of its free speech rights and selective enforcement of the state’s insurance regulations. The article, “NRA Allowed to Depose Former DFS Superintendent Vullo in Lawsuit Against NY,” explained that the decision from U.S. Magistrate Judge Christian Hummel is significant. The article states, “It’s rare that high-ranking state or federal officials are required to testify as part of any litigation. They’re often granted immunity from testimony as a high-ranking government official.”
“Today’s ruling is gratifying, and correct. As the head of a major financial regulator, Ms. Vullo singled out the NRA to suppress its speech. She should answer questions regarding this conduct,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for the NRA. “This is a significant development for the advocacy of the NRA. We are anxious to discover all the facts and bring them into open view—to the benefit of the Association and the First Amendment.”
New York Post Reports on Lawsuit Brought by Dallas Investor
The New York Post reported on a lawsuit filed by Brewer firm client and Dallas investor Mark Hurley against Emigrant Bank and New York billionaire Howard Milstein.
The Dec. 11 article, “Milstein heir dished divorce dirt on business rival: suit,” reports that Milstein allegedly hired a private investigator to follow Hurley “to gain leverage in a contentious business deal” as the pair “tangled” over the sale of the Fiduciary Network, a private-equity vehicle.
The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 7, 2018, in the District Court of Dallas County, Texas. According to the complaint, “This case involves a multi-year scorched-earth campaign, led by New York real-estate and banking scion Howard Milstein, to wrest control of a once-successful business (for pennies on the dollar) by disrupting its contractual relationships and defaming its founder.”