The Wall Street Journal Reports on Firm Matter
Wall Street Journal Assistant Editorial Page Editor James Freeman wrote on August 27, 2018, about one of the firm’s current matters – the NRA’s lawsuit against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Financial Services (DFS). The lawsuit alleges the state violated the NRA’s First Amendment Rights in connection with regulatory guidance issued to financial institutions urging them not to do business with the NRA. Freeman writes that the ACLU sided with the NRA by filing an amicus brief in federal court in New York.
Freeman writes in part, “New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has earned a new opponent in his assault on liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Better late than never, the American Civil Liberties Union is standing up against Mr. Cuomo’s abuse of the National Rifle Association. The happy result could be not just expanded liberty in New York but safer financial institutions as well.”
New York Law Journal Reports on ACLU’s Support of NRA’s Free Speech
The New York Law Journal reported on August 24, 2018 that the American Civil Liberties Union moved to file a brief opposing the state’s motion to dismiss the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s top financial regulator. The firm is representing the NRA in the matter.
“If true, those allegations represent a blatant violation of the First Amendment,” the proposed brief [from the ACLU] said. “Although public officials are free to express their opinions and may condemn viewpoints or groups they view as inimical to public welfare, they cannot abuse their regulatory authority to retaliate against disfavored advocacy organizations and to impose burdens on those organizations’ ability to conduct lawful business.”
The article included comment from firm partner William Brewer.
“The ACLU’s amicus brief is testament to what we have contended all along—Gov. Cuomo and the DFS violated the First Amendment rights of the NRA,” Brewer said. “The ACLU is a leading voice on legal and constitutional issues, and we welcome their advocacy in this important case.”
Svetlana Eisenberg to Join Firm as Partner
Svetlana M. Eisenberg is joining Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors as Partner in the New York office. She is an experienced litigator with substantial experience prosecuting investment fraud, defending allegations of securities fraud, and conducting corporate internal investigations.
Ms. Eisenberg previously worked as law clerk to the Hon. Michael E. Wiles, U.S. bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York, and was an Assistant U.S. Attorney, General Crimes Unit, District of New Jersey. Prior to that, she was Associate General Counsel to HSBC Holdings in New York, where she investigated potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She began her legal career as an associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP.
Fluent in Russian, Ms. Eisenberg earned her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Bennington College and holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. While in law school, she was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal Annual Review of Criminal Procedure and was awarded a Medal of Excellence from the American Bankruptcy Institute.
Judge Grants Motion for Sanctions in High-Profile Life Insurance Case
The United States District Court for the District of Colorado granted a motion for sanctions filed by Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors on behalf of firm client DCD Partners, LLC against Fred Albracht, Chief Actuary for the North America National Reinsurance Company (NANRe), for attempted evasion of a subpoena.
The August 8, 2018 award constitutes the second sanction levied against actors involved in the implementation of a massive and unlawful increase in the rates charged by Transamerica Life Insurance Company on life insurance policies held by DCD – policies which provide thousands of dollars in benefits to a non-profit organization and thousands of disadvantaged families in South Los Angeles every year.
The underlying litigation, styled DCD Partners, LLC v. Transamerica Life Insurance Company, 15-cv3238-CAS-GJS, captured headlines and sparked a national conversation about improper rate hikes when a federal jury agreed with Brewer and found that Transamerica and NANRe “contrived” the rate increase in breach of contract. The jury awarded DCD nearly $6 million in compensation for the breach.
“We hope this decision, and the prior sanction against Transamerica, underscores that insurers cannot continue to take advantage of policyholders and then hide behind the costs of discovery caused by gamesmanship,” says William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for plaintiffs. “Beyond the impacts to the case in question, we hope these developments help shine a light on rate increases and the impact they have on unsuspecting policyholders.”
Firm’s Case Chronicled in The New York Times
August 9, 2018
The New York Times chronicles one of the firm’s current advocacy campaigns in an article, “The NRA Has Declared War on Andrew Cuomo. He Couldn’t Be Happier,” dated August 9, 2018. The piece explores the firm’s representation of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a lawsuit by the organization against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Partner William Brewer is quoted extensively in the article, offering insights into the firm’s position that the State of New York has violated the First Amendment rights of the NRA.
Dallas Morning News Watchdog Columnist Applauds Brewer Storefront TOMA Action
Dallas Morning News Watchdog Columnist Dave Lieber wrote a column, “Here’s How a Trustee Says School Boards Violate Texas Open Meetings Law,” dated August 3, 2018, that explores a newly filed Brewer Storefront Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) lawsuit. The column focuses on a lawsuit filed by Brewer Storefront, the firm’s community service legal affiliate, against Richardson Independent School District (RISD) and the RISD Board of Trustees.
In part, Lieber writes that the “12-page lawsuit is the most detailed explanation The Watchdog has seen for how a public government board can ignore the open meetings law.” He writes that the Brewer Storefront plaintiff is “showing leadership here by standing up to a widespread secretive culture that enables public officials to keep private what's supposed to be public.”
Lieber is a veteran Dallas/Fort Worth investigative journalist whose focuses on “exposing bad practices in business and government.”
National Review Columnist Endorses Firm’s New York Lawsuit on Behalf of NRA
Columnist David French published a commentary in the National Review, “To Limit the Second Amendment, New York Attacks the First,” dated August 7, 2018, that offers support of a lawsuit filed by the NRA against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors represents the NRA in the matter.
The suit alleges that the state violated the NRA’s First Amendment rights in connection with regulatory guidance issued to financial institutions urging them to not do business with the NRA. French writes that Governor Cuomo has no right to threaten financial institutions that do business with the NRA.
French writes, “State officials have their own free-speech rights, yes, but those free-speech rights do not include the right to use express or implied threats to wield state power against disfavored viewpoints.” In comments directed at Cuomo, he wrote that “the instant that malice translates into state action aimed at speech is the instant the Constitution holds you to account.”
Albany Times Union Columnist Writes About Firm’s Case
Albany Times Union Columnist Chris Churchill wrote a column dated August 6, 2018, titled “Cuomo targets the NRA – and free speech” that refers to a lawsuit brought by the firm on behalf of the National Rifle Association (NRA) against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) and its Superintendent, Maria T. Vullo. The suit alleges that the state violated the NRA’s First Amendment rights in connection with regulatory guidance issued to financial institutions urging them not to do business with the NRA.
Churchill writes that Cuomo’s attack on the NRA “is more harmful to the First Amendment than the Second” Amendment because Cuomo has “essentially weaponized the state’s regulatory authorities to go after a political organization with which he disagrees.” Churchill also refers to the lawsuit alleging that Cuomo “is using the power of state government to pressure banks and insurance companies to stop doing business with the gun rights group.” Additionally, Churchill quotes directly from the lawsuit’s allegation that Cuomo is running a “blacklisting campaign.” He concludes that, “What Cuomo is doing – using the power of the state to target a political enemy – is tyrannical.”