I ended up taking out the validation group and handling it in the OnItemCommand event. There may be a slicker way of doing it, but this worked for me.
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(tbReplyName.Text.ToString().Trim()))
strValidationMessage = "<li>Please enter your name.</li>";
Literal ltrErrorMessage = (Literal)e.Item.FindControl("ltrErrorMessage");
ltrErrorMessage.Text = strValidationMessage;