LEGAL FACTS

December 18, 2020 —  The NRA and its CEO & EVP Wayne LaPierre were vindicated this week in a Virginia courtroom. On December 18, 2020, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Catherine Hammond ruled in favor of the Association in a high-profile dispute with the Virginia law firm of Dycio & Biggs (Dycio).

 

The ruling comes almost one year after the NRA sued Dycio, alleging the firm had defrauded the NRA.

 

According to an NRA lawsuit, dated December 27, 2019, Dycio allegedly performed legal work for the NRA for more than five years – for which the firm was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite cashing in on years of invoices that claim the firm had performed legal services, Dycio mounted an unusual defense:  it denied ever representing the NRA.

 

As part of the backstory, Dycio allegedly represented parties adverse to the Association. In response, the NRA sought the return of its client files and other communications – which Dycio refused to turn over. In furtherance of its pursuit of Dycio, an NRA investigation revealed that some of the services for which it compensated Dycio were never actually performed. The NRA’s suit asserts the invoices were fraudulent, and it filed claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion and fraud.

 

Seven months later, Mark R. Dycio and the Dycio firm turned around and sued Mr. LaPierre, asserting claims for contribution and indemnification. Amazingly, Mr. Dycio argued in his own third-party complaint against Mr. LaPierre that it was Mr. LaPierre, not the Dycio firm, who caused the creation and submission of these invoices – knowing at the time that they were fraudulent. Dycio falsely alleged that Mr. LaPierre instructed Dycio to submit the invoices to the Association.

 

Based on that alleged directive, Dycio sought contribution and indemnification from Mr. LaPierre. On December 18, 2020, Judge Hammond sustained Mr. LaPierre’s demurrer, dismissing the third-party complaint in its entirety without prejudice. In doing so, Judge Hammond ruled that Dycio could not recover contribution or indemnification from Mr. LaPierre, in part, because Dycio admitted to intentional wrongdoing – including breaches of fiduciary duty, conversion, and fraud. Mr. LaPierre is no longer a defendant in this case.

 

“This is a resounding win for the NRA and all who support the Association in its pursuit of wrongdoers,” says William A. Brewer III, counsel to the NRA. “The NRA will continue to confront every false and misleading narrative against it. These developments not only vindicate Mr. LaPierre, but also put Dycio and others on notice:  the NRA is determined to pursue those who defrauded the Association and abused the trust of its members.”