by In just a few minutes jury selection in People of New York v. National Rifle Association of America et al will commence. It has been almost three and half years since the New York Attorney General’s Office and its Charity Bureau filed suit against the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, Woody Phillips, John Frazer, and Josh Powell.
As of this morning, 2,641 motions, exhibits, letters, witness lists, transcripts, court notices, and other documents have been filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court for New York County. This includes 65 documents that were filed with the court over the weekend and through this morning from both sides. I anticipate we will see more motions and letters to Judge Cohen filed as the day progresses.
This leads to an interesting question. Do the attorneys for the NRA and the four defendants charge extra for working over the weekend or does it just run up the number of billable hours?
Further, while the attorney fees for Wayne LaPierre and John Frazer will probably be covered under indemnification agreements with the NRA for their actions while serving as officers, what about Woody Phillips and Josh Powell? Will they be reimbursed? They are being sued for actions they took while working either directly or indirectly for the NRA. We know Powell is now acting as his own attorney as he can’t afford the attorney fees out of pocket. Regardless of how many will get their attorney fees reimbursed, it is still all member’s money down the drain after the D&O policy pays their little bit.