Brewer Foundation/NYU IPPF Debate Contest Making Headlines
The Brewer Foundation and New York University recently announced the high school debate teams advancing to the “Top 64” round of the 19th annual International Public Policy Forum (IPPF) debate competition. By advancing, the students remain eligible to win a $10,000 grand prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to the IPPF Finals in New York City.
The IPPF is the first and only international debate competition that gives high school students the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy.
This year, the IPPF received qualifying round essays from more than 150 teams, representing schools in 28 U.S. states and 19 countries. Each essay affirmed or negated the IPPF topic, "Resolved: When in conflict, a nation's self-interest should outweigh its international commitments to migrants."
Media outlets including Patch.com reported on the advancing teams.
Brewer Storefront Hosts RISD Candidates Forum
Brewer Storefront, the firm’s community service legal affiliate, and the North Dallas Suburban Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority hosted a Candidates Forum on October 14, 2019, at Hamilton Park United Methodist Church in Dallas for the upcoming Richardson ISD Board of Trustees Election.
The Storefront represented former RISD trustee David Tyson in a voting rights case that resulted in an agreement to establish a new election system with five single member districts and two at large districts on the board. Candidates for District 4 (Regina Harris, Patricia Price Hicks, Taler Jefferson and Sakennia Reed) and District 2 (Vanessa Pacheco) participated in the forum.
Community Impact reported about the debate in an Oct. 15 article titled "Richardson ISD board candidates discuss priorities ahead of first single-member district election on Nov. 5."
"This is really a historical time for Richardson Independent School District under this new five-two model," said Lacy Durham, a North Dallas suburban alumnae and moderator at the forum. "It's an opportunity for us to be more reflective of our diverse community."
On Nov. 5, voters elected Regina Harris to the new District 4 seat. The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board endorsed Harris, and reported that she is a webinar services manager who has also served in various RISD PTA leadership roles, and on the district's diversity committee. Harris is the first African American woman elected to the board.
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.”
The Real Deal Reports on Real Estate Lawsuit in South Florida
The Real Deal South Florida Real Estate News reported on Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors client Wayne Goldberg, a retired hospitality executive, suing the development group Fernbrook Florida over a penthouse condo he alleges he was falsely induced to purchase in the luxury Sabbia Beach development in Pompano Beach, Florida, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
The lawsuit was filed in Broward County Circuit Court and the complaint alleges that the developer “held units off the market in order to create the appearance that units were in high-demand and to inflate sales prices.” The lawsuit contends that when he visited the penthouse that he “observed multiple severe, material deviations from the agreement and its amendments” and that a personal elevator had been placed in front of the “much-vaunted windows of the penthouse overlooking Pompano Beach.”
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.”
Dallas Morning News Reports on High-Profile Real Estate Lawsuit
Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors announced the filing of a lawsuit on June 18, 2019, on behalf of its client, Megatel Homes, against United Development Funding and Centurion American Development Group. Dallas Morning News Real Estate Editor Steve Brown wrote about the filing in an article titled, “Dallas builder Megatel seeks millions in damages from developer and finance firm.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in the 160th Judicial District Court in Dallas County, Texas, alleges that Megatel’s joint venture partners, UDF and Centurion, conspired to take advantage of Megatel. The lawsuit alleges breach of fiduciary duties and breach of good faith and fair dealing, among other claims.
"As alleged in the petition, our client believes that defendants conspired against their company to unfairly remove it from significant projects and to gain financial benefits to which defendants were not entitled," William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel for Megatel, said in a statement. Megatel is seeking more than $100 million.
The article reported that, “Among Megatel's charges is a claim that Centurion American sold homebuilding sites in its new communities that had been pledged to Megatel to other builders in order to raise cash.”
Megatel Homes was founded by brothers Zach and Aaron Ipour, and is a top-ten homebuilder in Dallas-Fort Worth.
William Brewer Writes Commentary on Crisis Management in Texas Lawyer
Partner William A. Brewer III wrote a commentary published in Texas Lawyer titled “Advocacy is Art: Lawyers Must Engage in Issues and Crisis Management” on May 6, 2019. Brewer writes about the need for lawyers to engage in effective advocacy outside of the courtroom in the “court of public opinion.” He writes that “The fusion of legal and communications resources can produce more compelling, effective advocacy—enabling clients to favorably posture themselves, mitigate reputational damage and have a voice in the telling of the stories that define them.”
Brewer writes about how the firm launched an Issues & Crisis Management group in 2001. The group specializes in managing reputational issues for a broad range of clients. Brewer adds that, “Having crisis communications skill sets in-house provides law firms with invaluable expertise, perspective, and insight into the analysis of each client’s circumstances.”