NRA sues longtime ad agency over requests for bill details

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  • wolfwood

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 24, 2011
    1,361
    I was wondering when their relationship would sour \ https://wrex.com/category/2019/04/1...-IwC1444AJJf8O6tpwT8dQUhZOhw1c60UciJ9ExrvY9HE


    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The National Rifle Association is suing its longtime ad agency over accusations the company has withheld crucial financial details in its billing.

    The lawsuit filed Friday in Alexandria, Virginia, says Oklahoma City-based Ackerman McQueen is contractually bound to show documentation on its bills to the NRA. But the NRA says the firm has only partly complied or “baldly ignored” requests for more information.

    The lawsuit says that in 2017 the NRA paid Ackerman McQueen and a subsidiary more than $40 million.

    Ackerman McQueen said in a statement Monday that an NRA forensic auditing firm received every piece of information it requested during a three-week review.

    Ackerman McQueen and the NRA have worked together since the 1980s. The company runs NRATV, which livestreams gun rights commentary and advocacy for the NRA.



    https://www.scribd.com/document/406...6iF7Zl7X2NJi7g0-qs0HcT4uc4MwxK4bbe-UOCsBgyhAA

    here is the complaint
     
    Last edited:

    wolfwood

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 24, 2011
    1,361
    Does this imply there are charges not accounted for, as in over billing?
    I'd have to look at the complaint to know. I haven't been able to get a copy.The case is in state court and that is outside of my research plan.
     

    wolfwood

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 24, 2011
    1,361
    Just think what they could have accomplished if they had put that money towards litigation....

    You have no idea what I could do if someone said wolfwood here is 40 million you form your team, you pay yourself and your staff hourly and filie the cases you think we should be filing.
     

    2ndMDRebel

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 13, 2008
    2,466
    And the 80s most prolific drug trafficker and murderer of Central American peasants Ollie North, the current el president of the NRA, has a sweetheart contract with the ad agency for a show they set him up with. Have to wonder if there may be a little DC two-stepping going on... he got away with it once bigly.
     

    ironpony

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 8, 2013
    7,191
    Davidsonville
    Seems like a lot of the issue relates to NRAtv. A lot of money was spent, I dont think a lot I'd people saw it. All those angry Dana videos were particularly absurd.
    I have always felt the videos on NRA tv could be done better or at least in a more user friendly/binge worthy method.
     

    danb

    dont be a dumbass
    Feb 24, 2013
    22,704
    google is your friend, I am not.
    Here's another take on the information https://www.foxnews.com/us/nra-sues-its-main-advertiser-for-allegedly-withholding-billing-information looks like they were billing without having documents to back it up.

    "Billing practices" are rarely a core reason for a dispute. Probably this went on for years and was overlooked. This issue is being used as a crowbar to leverage something else, probably contract cancellation fees or something else. I've read what they really want is viewership metrics, but who knows.
     

    adit

    ReMember
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 20, 2013
    19,512
    DE
    "Billing practices" are rarely a core reason for a dispute. Probably this went on for years and was overlooked. This issue is being used as a crowbar to leverage something else, probably contract cancellation fees or something else. I've read what they really want is viewership metrics, but who knows.

    Mitch McDeere weeps. "It's not sexy, but it's got teeth!"
     

    adit

    ReMember
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 20, 2013
    19,512
    DE
    Ackerman counter sues for $50 million.

    The firm blames the NRA for a coup against Oliver North.

    The NRA is facing a new legal challenger: the advertising firm it’s worked with for 30 years. On Thursday morning, Ackerman McQueen—which has been handling public relations and advertising for the gun rights group for over three decades—filed a $50 million counterclaim against the NRA in Virginia Circuit Court.

    In this legal fight, the NRA took the first shot. Last month, the group sued Ackerman McQueen demanding documents related to its work for the NRA. Ackerman McQueen runs the often-controversial NRATV programming, as well as other public relations work. The NRA claimed that the firm wouldn’t open its books and insinuated it had engaged in problematic business practices. Yesterday, the NRA filed a second lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen—first reported by The Daily Beast—alleging that the firm leaked confidential information to reporters and tried to organize a coup against the association’s CEO.

    Now, Ackerman McQueen is taking its turn. In the counterclaim, the firm alleges that it has already given the NRA sufficient access to financial information regarding its work, including by sharing recent data analytics for NRATV and letting auditors spend nine days going through its books in February. “AMc [Ackerman McQueen] has complied with every authorized demand for examination of its documents,” the suit reads.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-l...fires-back-with-dollar50-million-counterclaim
     

    fidelity

    piled higher and deeper
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 15, 2012
    22,400
    Frederick County
    What clients will want to work with this ad firm in the future? First, the $50 million suit in the post above (if not a negotiating tactic, it suggests wanting to drop NRA as a client and line their pockets with a payoff). And now, stopping to provide services (and I hope that means they're not getting paid) ...

    The Future of NRATV Is in Doubt After Ad Agency Severs Ties to Gun Group
    https://www.thedailybeast.com/nratv...ncy-ackerman-mcqueen-severs-ties-with-the-nra

    On Wednesday, ad agency Ackerman McQueen announced that it has moved to end its decades-long relationship with the National Rifle Association. It is the latest domino to fall in an ongoing legal fight, one that could ultimately mean the demise of the gun group’s affiliated, pro-Trump TV network.

    “Today, faced with the NRA’s many inexplicable actions that have constructively terminated the parties’ Services Agreement, Ackerman McQueen decided it is time to stand up for the truth, and formally provide a Notice to Terminate its almost four-decade long relationship with the National Rifle Association,” the ad firm said in a statement.

    “The turmoil the NRA faces today was self-inflicted,” the statement continued. “It could have been avoided. We deeply regret that it wasn’t.”

    Ackerman McQueen has worked with the NRA for decades on some of its most prominent public relations campaigns, playing a key role in building the gun group’s brand as a political and cultural powerhouse. But those days have ended as the two sides find themselves embroiled in an increasingly acrimonious legal fight. In using the legal term “constructive termination” in Wednesday’s statement, the ad agency is alleging that the NRA made it impossible for it to hold up its end of the contract.

    Such a development makes NRATV’s future uncertain. The NRA pays Ackerman McQueen to run NRATV programing, meaning that people at the network technically work for the ad firm. The agency’s announcement that it was severing ties with the gun lobby group caught NRATV staff off-guard on Wednesday morning.

    Many staffers and talent at all levels of NRATV had no idea this statement was coming, and found out about it when the rest of the public did, including through social media, according to a source familiar with the situation. That source added that many NRATV employees and hosts were left wondering if they even had jobs anymore.

    After the statement was made public, NRATV staff received internal guidance—in the form of a two-sentence email sent by Ackerman McQueen’s CEO Revan McQueen and addressed simply to “Everyone.”

    “Please see the attached,” read the internal email, obtained by The Daily Beast, which referred to the public statement. “We will have future internal discussions as we are able. Best, Revan.”

    As of 12:30 p.m. ET, mid-level managers at NRATV were still instructing staffers to keep working as if it were a normal day, per the source. As of Wednesday early afternoon, NRATV was still streaming content.

    ...

    Andrew Arulanandam, chief of NRA public affairs, hinted in a statement that changes may be coming to the group's public relations work.

    “The NRA can now begin transitioning various communications functions,” he said. “The NRA is eager to return the focus of its messaging to our core mission – the Second Amendment and our steadfast fight to protect America’s constitutional freedoms. This is an exciting time for the NRA and our members. We have an opportunity to elevate our brand, communicate with a broader community of gun owners, and press the advantage in the upcoming 2020 elections.”

    For months, NRATV has been part the legal battle between Ackerman McQueen and the NRA, which are suing each for millions of dollars. Those fights have since erupted into public view.

    Last month, the gun group sued Ackerman McQueen, demanding documents relating to its public relations work for the NRA. The NRA claimed in court that the firm refused to open its books, suggesting Ackerman McQueen had engaged in wrongdoing. Earlier this month, the NRA filed another suit against Ackerman McQueen—first reported by The Daily Beast—alleging that the ad firm had leaked confidential information and tried to stage a coup against NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre. That second lawsuit seeks tens of millions of dollars in damages.

    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
     

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