The National Rifle Association’s former advertising agency requested that the gun group’s bankruptcy case be tossed out, saying it was filed in bad faith, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Ackerman McQueen Inc., which spearheaded the NRA’s ad campaigns for decades before getting caught up in a battle for control of the organization, is now the biggest unsecured creditor in the chapter 11 proceedings. Ackerman filed papers yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas asking that the bankruptcy case be dismissed on the grounds that it amounts to an improper effort to gain a litigation advantage over the New York state authorities that have sued to break up the NRA. “It’s a disappointing, but predictable, response from a terminated vendor and defendant in litigation involving significant claims of wrongdoing,” said Michael J. Collins, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. “Ackerman McQueen continues to attack the NRA and its advisors to deflect from the allegations against the agency. We will continue to operate within the parameters of the bankruptcy court — to the benefit of the NRA, its members, and its vendors.” The filing comes on the heels of a motion by a member of the NRA’s board, Phillip Journey, who asked for the appointment of an examiner “to bring to light the veracity of the alleged fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, and gross mismanagement that has plagued the NRA’s reputation.” At a court hearing yesterday, Judge Harlin Hale said that he had decided not to read any news accounts of the NRA’s high-profile bankruptcy, which is still in the early stages. Journey’s motion said last month’s bankruptcy filing was a surprise to one or more directors on the NRA board. In a statement, NRA lawyer William A. Brewer said Journey was mistaken in suggesting the bankruptcy filing was the product of a flawed process. Ackerman’s critique argues the NRA is improperly using bankruptcy to escape a raft of litigation that the NRA itself initiated, as well as official enforcement proceedings that threaten to expose financial wrongdoing, including by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
