Clients and community association managers are invited to join me at noon on June 4 for my 2024-2025 Legal Update, hosted on Zoom. I’ll go over the 2025 legislative session, what passed, what didn’t pass, thoughts about the future, and delve into cases that you may have heard about or that will impact your decision-making
Lindsay S. Smith
CTA Effectively Dead
By Lindsay S. Smith on
While you were busy watching the Oscars, the Treasury Department announced that it will take no enforcement action for failure to file CTA beneficial ownership reports. Moreover, the Department announced that its upcoming rules will apply to foreign entities only. This means that, unless your HOA is incorporated outside of the United States, the CTA…
CTA: Breakin the Law!
By Lindsay S. Smith on
FinCEN is as sick of the CTA as you all are. Yesterday, they announced that no fines, penalties, or other enforcement action will occur for the failure to file a BOI report while they figure out what the heck they’re doing with the CTA and new rulemaking. We should have more information on what those…
I’m out of creative titles. The CTA is back?
By Lindsay S. Smith on
Tl;dr*: File your CTA beneficial owner registration by March 21, 2025. Probably.
The CTA has been the subject of various federal lawsuits and as a result, various conflicting rulings. We have focused primarily on the Texas Top Cop Shop cases, but other cases have also resulted in local and nationwide injunctions against the CTA. The…
WLPP Welcomes Rich Johnston!
By Lindsay S. Smith on
Posted in Community Association News, Off the Top
Many years ago, even before Suzanne Leff and I were young, bright-eyed, idealistic baby lawyers, Rich Johnston worked at WLPP. By the time we started practicing, Rich had moved on to his own illustrious firm, Tobey and Johnston, but Suzanne and I have seen his name and work in the firm’s client files for years. …
Just Kidding.
By Lindsay S. Smith on
Are you sick of “As the CTA Turns” yet? Yesterday, “to preserve the constitutional status quo,” the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the order that stayed the trial court’s preliminary injunction against the CTA and its mandatory BOIR reporting. So, yesterday, when we told you that you have until January 13 to file your…
The 5th Circuit Issues a Christmas Surprise – CTA Reporting is Back
By Lindsay S. Smith on
This afternoon, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government’s emergency motion to stay the trial court’s nationwide injunction against the CTA and its reporting requirements, pending a final determination of the appeal of that order. Finding that the government made a strong showing as to the CTA’s constitutionality, and that the lower court…
CTA Blocked – for today, at least
By Lindsay S. Smith on
In a memorandum opinion issued on December 3, 2024, Judge Mazzant out of the Eastern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act, finding that the Act is likely beyond the scope of Congressional authority. Reporting companies do not have to comply with the CTA’s January 1, 2025 reporting deadline, pending…
CTA Still in Play
By Lindsay S. Smith on
Posted in From Capitol Hill/Legislation, What the Courts Say
Many of our clients have been following CAI’s lawsuit regarding the Corporate Transparency Act’s applicability to HOA clients, Community Associations Institute v. U.S. Department of Treasury, very closely. CAI sought a preliminary injunction, which would postpone the deadline for community associations to file beneficial ownership information reports until the case could be fully heard…
Corporate Transparency Class
By Lindsay S. Smith on
Posted in Education, From Capitol Hill/Legislation
So, what is this Corporate Transparency Act thing? What does the government need us to do NOW??? Come join me for lunch at noon on Thursday (September 26, bring your own food to the Zoom!) and we will learn everything you wish you never needed to know about the CTA, with screen grabs from the…