Court Settlement Reinforces First Amendment Protections for Associations

On Jan. 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a case involving the American Chemistry Council (ACC) following a settlement that protects the confidentiality of ACC’s communications with its members. 

As part of the agreement, the California Attorney General withdrew efforts to force ACC to turn over internal documents, including member communications. The dispute stemmed from a request by California Attorney General Rob Bonta seeking access to materials ACC argued were protected under the First Amendment’s associational privilege.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), OSAP and many other associations closely followed this case because it raised important questions about whether associations and their members can communicate, advocate and engage with government freely, without concern that those internal discussions could be compelled into public disclosure.

Under the settlement, the California Attorney General is barred from requiring ACC or its members to produce these protected materials in related lawsuits or in the attorney general’s ongoing investigation into the petrochemical industry’s role in plastic pollution, launched in April 2022. This outcome reinforces important protections for associations and their members and helps safeguard the ability to engage in open dialogue and effective advocacy on behalf of their communities.

This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of Associations and Inroads.