(Bloomberg) -- The National Rifle Association will no longer face the prospect of dissolution if New York Attorney General Letitia James succeeds in her lawsuit against the organization, after a judge ruled that a “corporate death penalty” would be inappropriate.
New York County State Supreme Court Justice Joel Cohen on Wednesday issued an order rejecting the attorney general's effort to shut down the non-profit gun-rights group as part of her financial malfeasance claims. Cohen ruled the state's lawsuit can proceed, rejecting the NRA's motion to dismiss the case.
James sued the NRA, its longtime boss Wayne LaPierre, and other senior executives in 2020, alleging they had misused millions of dollars of the New York-chartered nonprofit's assets. The state's proposed remedy of dissolving the NRA would amount to a “corporate death penalty” that was not appropriate in this case, the judge said.
The allegations “concern primarily private harm to the NRA and its members and donors, which if proven can be addressed by the targeted, less intrusive relief she seeks through other claims in her Complaint,” Cohen wrote. “The complaint does not allege that any financial misconduct benefited the NRA, or that the NRA exists primarily to carry out such activity, or that the NRA is incapable of continuing its legitimate activities on behalf of its millions of members.”
NRA President Charles Cotton, in a statement, called the ruling a “resounding win for the NRA, its 5 million members, and all who believe in this organization. The message is loud and clear: the NRA is strong and secure in its mission to protect constitutional freedom.”
At the same time, Cohen permitted James to proceed with most of her claims and acknowledged their seriousness.
“The Attorney General's allegations in this case, if proven, tell a grim story of greed, self-dealing, and lax financial oversight at the highest levels of the National Rifle Association,” the judge said.
In a statement released after the ruling, James said, “While we're heartened that the judge rejected the NRA's attempts to thwart most of the claims in our case against the NRA, we are disappointed that the judge ruled against the dissolution portion of the case. We are considering our legal options with respect to this ruling.”
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