An appellate court in New York has permitted three churches to remove restrictions on permissible investments imposed by the same donor in his will. The donor had said that the churches could invest the bequests only in insured bank accounts and government securities. (In Re: Estate of Chamberlin, Sup. Ct., App. Div., Third Dept., NY, 1/7/16.)
Members of Congress who were outraged that the IRS held up applications by conservative organizations for 501(c)(4) social welfare exemption, which arose in part because the IRS did not know what type and how much political activity is permitted for a (c)(4) organization, have prohibited the IRS from finalizing regulations defining the type and extent of permitted political activity before the 2016 Presidential election.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has overruled the Commonwealth Court’s opinion in “Redacted v. Redacted” and allowed the state Attorney General to proceed against several charities and their officers using information allegedly disclosed by the charity’s attorney in violation of her obligation to preserve confidentiality. The Supreme Court has said that evidence should be admitted in the case “based on established evidentiary principles and not the broader Code of Professional Conduct.”
A federal District Court in Indiana has entirely dismissed a suit brought by the son of the founders of a family foundation who claimed that the foundation’s board was not properly constituted and that grants awarded by the board are unlawful. He complained particularly about grants to a university on whose board one of the foundation’s directors sits. (Doermer v. Callen, N.D. IN, No. 2:15-CV-154, 11/9/15.)
An attorney suing a nonprofit agency for the wrongful discharge of his client may not send a claim notice to the entire board of the agency asserting that they could be personally liable for a “false and libelous” counterclaim filed “with malice” against his client. An appellate court in Connecticut has affirmed a protective order issued by the trial judge preventing the lawyer from having further contact with the directors without the consent of their lawyer. (
A group of trustees elected by Penn State alumni has the right to review the background data developed by Louis B.
