NRA V. LT. COL. NORTH
ABOUT THE NRA'S CASE
On October 10, 2019, the NRA achieved a victory in its lawsuit against former NRA President Lt. Col. Oliver North, when the New York Supreme Court dismissed, with prejudice, North's demands for indemnification from the NRA.
The NRA’s lawsuit against North, which was filed on June 19, 2019, stated, "The legal fees and expenses for which North seeks indemnification and advancement arise in connection with two sets of document requests — a judicial subpoena and a Congressional inquiry — that relate to a conspiracy by North to extort the NRA."
According to the complaint, North departed from his position as NRA President "after a widely publicized, failed coup attempt" that he spearheaded on behalf of his employer, Ackerman McQueen.
“North has acted in the best interests of himself and Ackerman and at the expense of the interests of the NRA, engaged in conduct harmful to the NRA, and persistently failed to provide to the NRA important details related to his lucrative contract with Ackerman,” the lawsuit stated.
Further, it stated, “The NRA would readily indemnify, in appropriate circumstances, officers or directors who discharge their roles in good faith and in the best interests of the NRA. But the NRA cannot, and will not, expend its donors’ funds to pay North’s legal fees after he chose to pursue his own financial interests at the direct expense of the NRA.”
In response to the New York Supreme Court ruling, NRA outside counsel William A. Brewer III stated, "This decision is a resounding win for the NRA in its dispute with Lt. Col. North. The NRA always viewed the position of Lt. Col. North as a misguided attempt to deflect from the cold reality: he played a central role in a corrupt scheme that actually caused many of the issues for which he sought indemnification.”
Brewer added, “The NRA will continue to hold Lt. Col. North and others accountable for actions taken in pursuit of their own self-interests. The Association will stay on the principled path – in support of its Constitutional freedoms and those of the millions of members it serves.”
NRA Seeks Declaratory Judgment that It can Proceed with Disciplinary Proceeding
On July 1, 2020, the NRA filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Albany. The NRA seeks a declaratory judgment that it can proceed with a disciplinary proceeding, as contemplated under the NRA's Bylaws, that would determine whether Lt. Col. North should be expelled from NRA membership.
The disciplinary proceeding was commenced on August 5, 2019, when another Board member filed a complaint against Lt. Col. North seeking his expulsion from the NRA on the grounds that Lt. Col. North acted contrary to and in violation of the NRA’s Bylaws, engaged in conduct that was disruptive of the orderly operation of the NRA in pursuit of its goals, and violated his obligation of loyalty to the NRA and the NRA’s objectives.
In addition, the NRA seeks a declaratory judgment that by failing, in June 2019, to end his employment at Ackerman McQueen – a related party transaction – Lt. Col. North forfeited his NRA Board membership.
