Pittsburgh, PA
Firm Alert
(by Chris Farmakis, Susanna Bagdasarova, Kate Cooper, and Dane Fennell)
As discussed in our previous Alert, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a nationwide preliminary injunction in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al., temporarily halting enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements, including the January 1, 2025, filing deadline. The ruling provided temporary relief to affected businesses, but a pending Department of Justice (DOJ) emergency motion to stay the injunction pending appeal has created further uncertainty.
On December 11 and December 13, 2024, the DOJ filed emergency motions with the District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit respectively, requesting a stay of the District Court’s nationwide injunction. In its motion to the Court of Appeals, the government proposed an expedited briefing schedule, requesting “a ruling on this motion as soon as possible, but in any event no later than December 27, 2024, to ensure that regulated entities can be made aware of their obligation to comply before January 1, 2025.”
On December 17, 2024, the District Court denied the government’s motion, while the Court of Appeals decision remains pending and could be issued as early as December 20, 2024. If the Fifth Circuit grants the stay or narrows the scope of the injunction, the CTA’s reporting requirements, including the January 1, 2025 filing deadline, could be reinstated (unless the court or the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issues a deadline extension). FinCEN has already clarified that businesses are not required to file BOI reports while the injunction is in effect, but that they may voluntarily submit reports during this time. …