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In re National Rifle Association Business Expenditures Litigation, MDL No. 2979 — filings

In re National Rifle Association Business Expenditures Litigation — 6 court filings in the archive, mostly from United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, filed between October 25, 2019 and February 4, 2021. Among them: 2 complaints and 1 order.

Case facts

CourtUnited States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (2 filings); United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (1 filing)
Filings6 public filings
Filed2019-10-25 – 2021-02-04
Document typescomplaints (2), order (1)
Original PDFs6 of 6

Case summary

This page collects four documents from the motion to centralise the National Rifle Association litigation before the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation as MDL No. 2979. The NRA, plaintiff in two actions and defendant in a third, moved under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 to centralise four actions then pending in three districts in the Northern District of Texas, or, in its reply, unopposed to the Northern District of New York. The New York Attorney General, the plaintiffs in the Middle District of Tennessee action and the Ackerman parties opposed centralisation. By order of February 4, 2021 the Panel denied the motion. The page also holds two of the underlying pleadings as exhibits: the NRA's first amended complaint against Ackerman McQueen and the New York Attorney General's verified complaint.

Case at a glance

PartiesMovant the National Rifle Association of America, Inc.; responding parties including the New York Attorney General, the plaintiffs in the Middle District of Tennessee action and the Ackerman parties, being Ackerman McQueen, Inc., Mercury Group, Inc., Henry Martin, Melanie Montgomery, William Winkler and Jesse Greenberg; the defendant in the Northern District of Texas Stinchfield action supported the motion
Court and docketUnited States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, MDL No. 2979. Schedule A lists National Rifle Association of America v. James, N.D.N.Y. No. 1:20-00889, and Dell'Aquila v. LaPierre, M.D. Tenn.; the NRA's amended complaint against Ackerman McQueen is N.D. Tex. No. 3:19-cv-02074-G-BK
ProgramNot named in the filings on this page. No document on this route mentions the Paycheck Protection Program or the CARES Act
ClaimsCentralisation under 28 U.S.C. § 1407. The exhibits are the underlying pleadings: the New York Attorney General's verified complaint against the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, Wilson Phillips, John Frazer and Joshua Powell, and the NRA's first amended complaint against Ackerman McQueen
Disposition or statusThe motion for centralisation was denied on February 4, 2021. Nothing on this page decides the merits of any underlying action
Status checked2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read

Why did the Panel deny transfer?

Because it was not persuaded that centralisation is necessary for the convenience of the parties and witnesses or to further the just and efficient conduct of the litigation, finding any factual overlap limited and overshadowed by the many individual questions presented by the alleged facts, claims and parties in each action.

What else weighed against centralisation?

That the NRA and the Ackerman parties are each represented by common counsel in all actions in which they are parties and the Stinchfield defendant is represented by counsel affiliated with the NRA's counsel, which the Panel said should facilitate informal coordination of this relatively small number of actions.

What is the New York Attorney General's complaint?

A verified complaint filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, Index No. 451625/2020, by the People of the State of New York by Letitia James, Attorney General, against the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, Wilson Phillips, John Frazer and Joshua Powell. It is filed here as Exhibit A to the centralisation papers.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.

Filings

6 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.

  1. First Amended Complaint — NRA v. Ackerman McQueen (N.D. Tex.)Complaint · PDF
  2. Verified Complaint — People v. NRA (NYAG)Complaint · PDF
  3. Declaration of Ian Shaw — In re NRA Business Expenditures LitigationDeclaration · PDF
  4. Declaration of Sarah B. Rogers — In re NRA Business Expenditures LitigationDeclaration · PDF
  5. AMc Amended Brief in Opposition — In re NRA Business Expenditures Litigation (N.D. Tex.)PDF
  6. Order Denying Transfer — In re NRA Business Expenditures Litigation (N.D. Tex.)Order

Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.

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