"The complaint's factual allegations show that, far from acting irresponsibly, Vullo was doing her job in good faith … She used her office to address policy issues of concern to the public," U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Judge Denny Chin wrote. "Even assuming her actions were unlawful, and we do not believe they were, the unlawfulness was not apparent by any means." (Credit: Daniel Acker)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday ruled in favor of former New York Department of Financial Services superintendent Maria Vullo in a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association, finding that Vullo acted in good faith when she investigated insurance companies that had partnered with the gun-rights advocacy group.
Vullo's attorney, Andrew Celli Jr. of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, appealed to the Second Circuit after U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy of the Northern District of New York in 2021 granted motions to dismiss several claims but allowed the NRA to move ahead with its First Amendment claims against Vullo.
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Jane Wester
Jane Wester is a litigation reporter for the New York Law Journal. Email her at [email protected] or find her on Twitter @janewester.
