The National Rifle Association’s former advertising agency, Ackerman McQueen Inc., has said it thinks the gun group’s chapter 11 case will be thrown out of bankruptcy court on the grounds it was filed in bad faith, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The comments came in papers Ackerman McQueen filed Friday in federal court in Texas, where it is embroiled in litigation with the NRA in a multipronged dispute stemming from the acrimonious end in 2019 of the agency’s decadeslong relationship with the gun-rights group. “The objectives of the reorganization plan are to utilize the bankruptcy code to continue streamlining costs and expenses, proceed with pending litigation in a coordinated and structured manner, and realize many financial advantages in furtherance of the NRA’s mission,” William A. Brewer III, counsel for the NRA said, responding to the bad faith allegation. The NRA’s former ad agency is listed as the group’s largest unsecured creditor in the Jan. 15 bankruptcy filing. If the chapter 11 proceeding moves ahead, Ackerman McQueen is in line for a spot on the official committee of unsecured creditors, a panel that will have considerable influence on what happens to the NRA. No committee has yet been named, however, and Ackerman McQueen said that action could come soon in the Dallas bankruptcy court to bring the chapter 11 proceeding to a swift halt.
