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      FEC Record: Litigation
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      Libertarian National Committee v. FEC (New 2011)

FEC Record: Litigation*Libertarian National Committee v. FEC* (New 2011)May 1, 2011 On March 17, 2011, the Libertarian National Committee, Inc. (LNC) filed suit against the Commission in the U.S. District Court for theDistrict of Columbia. The LNC is seeking to permanently enjoin theapplication of the Federal Election Campaign Act’s (the Act) contributionlimits to the solicitation and receipt of contributions made by bequest from a deceased person’s estate.The LNC argues that the ban on national party committees soliciting or receiving any funds not subjectto the limitations, prohibitions and reporting requirements of the Act (2 U.S.C. § 441i) cannot be constitutionally applied to decedents’ bequests. Background The LNC is the national committee of the Libertarian Party of the United States, which is headquartered in Washington, DC. Its purposeis “to field national Presidential tickets, to support its state partyaffiliates in running candidates for public office, and to conduct otherpolitical activities in furtherance of a libertarian public policy agenda inthe United States.” In April 2007, Raymond Groves Burrington of Knox County, Tennessee, died, and, in his last will and testament, bequeathed $217,734 to the Libertarian Party. As indexedfor inflation according to 2 U.S.C. § 441a(c), the current annual limit for an individual contribution to anational party committee is $30,800. In previous Advisory Opinions, the Commission has concludedthat contributions made by bequest from a deceased person’s estate are subject to the Act’s contribution limits. AOs 2004-02, 1999-14. As a result, the Plaintiff did not acceptthe entire bequest at once, but rather accepted annual contributions fromthe Burrington Estate of $28,500 in 2007 and 2008, the maximum contribution permissible at the time.The remaining balance of $160,734 was placed into an escrow account.The escrow account, established under agreement with the BurringtonEstate and the LNC, provides that the LNC must withdraw annually the maximum amount permitted by the individual contribution limits. Complaint The Plaintiff argues that applying the annual contribution limits and the bar on national party committees’ soliciting and receiving fundsnot subject to the Act to decedents’ bequests violates the First Amendmentspeech and associational rights of the LNC and its supporters. Thesuit asserts that limiting contributions from decedents’ bequests doesnot serve any valid governmental interest. The Plaintiff seeks to implementa planned giving program to solicit bequests exceeding the contributionlimits. Because the LNC alleges that it is challenging the constitutionalityof portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA),the Plaintiff requests a three-judge court to hear the case. Section 403 ofBCRA allows for a three-judge court to hear a case brought for declaratoryor injunctive relief to challenge the constitutionality of any provisionor amendment of BCRA. The full text of the court complaintis available at: http://www.fec.gov/law/litigation/lnc_lnc_complaint.pdf. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia: Case 1:11-cv-00562-RLW (filed March 17, 2011).
 Author
          Isaac BakerCommunications Specialist


Read next: AO 2011-03: National party committees may fund litigation expenses using recount funds
 Related: Explore campaign finance data »


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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