Agreeing with the NRA that “it is time for this war to end,” U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade denied a motion for sanctions against the NRA filed by Ackerman McQueen, the organization’s former advertising and public relations agency. The judge did, however, order the NRA to pay roughly $1.5 million in attorneys fees and costs relating to the long-running litigation.
The case, National Rifle Association v. Ackerman McQueen, arose from a confidential settlement agreement that resolved earlier, highly contentious litigation between the parties. That dispute began in 2019 when the NRA sued its longtime advertising and PR firm over alleged over-billing, breach of contract, and other claims amid internal NRA turmoil and a New York Attorney General investigation.
Ackerman McQueen and related parties countersued with allegations of libel, fraud, tortious interference, and more. Both sides sought tens of millions in damages. The matter settled in March, 2022 with the NRA paying approximately $12 million to Ackerman McQueen, ending that phase of the war.
In September, 2022, the NRA filed this new suit in Dallas, accusing Ackerman McQueen, Mercury Group, and individual defendant Anthony Makris of breaching the confidential settlement through alleged violations of contract, fiduciary duty, and fraud. The litigation continued for years and late last year the NRA moved to dismiss the case.
Shortly afterward, the court awarded the defendants their reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs—more than $1.17 million in fees plus $33,000 in costs to the Ackerman/Mercury defendants, and roughly $234,000 in fees plus costs to Makris.
Unsatisfied with that, Ackerman and Mercury also moved for a half-million in monetary sanctions against the NRA. They argued the entire suit was a “bad faith attempt to perpetuate litigation” that caused them lost business opportunities, profits, and other setbacks. The NRA disagreed, contending the motion sought pure punishment and that, after years of aggressive fighting on all sides, “it is time for this war to end.”
Judge Kinkeade reviewed the extensive record, the parties’ briefs, and applicable law, finally finding no evidence that the NRA pursued the case for an improper purpose under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, which requires extreme caution before imposing sanctions. He likewise found no bad faith, vexatious, or oppressive conduct on the part of theNRA or its current counsel that would justify sanctions, a power, he noted, that should be used only as a last resort.
Agreeing with the NRA’s closing sentiment about ending the war, the judge denied the motion in full. The ruling seems to finally close another chapter in one of the NRA’s most protracted and costly vendor disputes.