NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the dismissal of the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit accusing a New York state official of violating its free speech rights by coercing banks and insurers to avoid doing business with it.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Maria Vullo, a former superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, had qualified immunity against the NRA’s claims under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Neither the NRA nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment. Lawyers for Vullo did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Vullo had in 2018 called on banks and insurers to consider the “reputational risks” of doing business with gun rights groups, after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
The NRA said this “blacklisting” campaign amounted to unlawful retaliation for its gun rights advocacy.
In May 2024, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court said the NRA could pursue its First Amendment case, reversing an earlier 2nd Circuit decision. It did not address whether Vullo was immune from being sued.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by William Maclean)
