The National Rifle Association on Thursday lost a preliminary round in a legal battle with New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who wants the gun-rights nonprofit dissolved because of alleged financial misdeeds, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Joel Cohen of the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan refused to dismiss New York’s lawsuit against the NRA or ship the dispute to state or federal court in Albany, N.Y., where the NRA has challenged several official actions against it by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state authorities. NRA lawyer William A. Brewer III said in a statement that the organization remains confident New York’s case lacks merit and is unconstitutional. Ms. James, in a statement, said the judge’s decision “reaffirms what we’ve known all along: The NRA does not get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions.” The ruling means a possible trial could commence by early next year in a major lawsuit the NRA has said threatens its existence and grew out of a politically hostile environment in New York.
