Lead Stories

In the latest battle in the continuing fight to obtain legal rights for sentient animals, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that a nonprofit organization seeking to protect the rights of elephants has no standing to sue because the elephants are not “persons” entitled to the habeas corpus protection sought on their behalf.  The Court has unanimously ruled that the state habeas corpus law applies only to human beings.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has held that subchapter V of the Bankruptcy Code, as adopted by the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019, may be utilized by a nonprofit homeowners’ association to provide a reorganization plan even though the debtor is not organized or operated for profit.

In 1944, George G. Averill conveyed 330 acres of land in Kennebec County, ME, now known as Camp Bomazeen, to himself and others as trustees to be used as a camp for the Boy Scouts of America.  The deed allowed the trustees to sell any or all of the property with written consent of the local council of Boy Scouts and provided that the proceeds of the transaction “shall be used for the purposes and under the conditions” of the trust deed.

The value of assets held in donor advised funds throughout the nation rose nearly 10% in 2023, from $228.9 billion in 2022 to $251.5 billion in 2023, reflecting the significant increase in market value of investments during the year.  (The S&P 500 Index was up 26.3% for the year.). But the total value of contributions to DAFs dropped more than 21% from $75.9 billion in 2022 to $59.4 billion in 2023.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that an Accountable Care Organization providing benefits to private parties as a “substantial” part of its activities is not eligible for exemption as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.  The ruling is the first modern appellate court ruling rejecting the claim that an organization can qualify for (c)(4) status so long as its “primary” activity is promoting the public good. 

A commercial loan between a bank trustee of a charitable trust and the charity that is the beneficiary of the trust is presumptively fraudulent without clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, an appellate court in Illinois has ruled.  The Court has reversed a trial court decision authorizing the bank to proceed with an action to collect on the note and granted the charity’s motion to rescind the note for breach of fiduciary duty.