Lead Stories

Religious Group Ordered to Pay Punitive Damages for Misrepresentation

Court says jury could conclude that false claim that association was a Benedictine monastery was reckless

A religious association that falsely purported to be a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery has been ordered to pay more than $71,000 in punitive damages to a couple who made substantial payments to the association on the basis of the misrepresentation. An appellate court in Connecticut has affirmed a trial court decision that also ordered the association to pay more than $207,000 in compensatory damages. (Wagner v.

Religious Order Can’t Prevent Probate Of Nun’s Will Because of Vow of Poverty

Court says Congregation may have claim for breach of contract but vow doesn’t affect validity of the will itself

When Sister George Marie Attea, a long-time professed nun of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Buffalo, NY, died in 2014, she left a will and a probate estate of nearly $2 million, to be divided among her brothers, the husband of her deceased sister, the Congregation, and a number of Catholic charities.

Lawyer Who Was on Board and E.D. of School May Represent Family Suing School

Court says there is no “substantial relationship” between attorney’s prior service and issues involved in current case

An attorney who served on the board of directors and then as Executive Director of a residential school for children with autism is not disqualified from representing a family claiming mistreatment of their child more than 5 years after the lawyer left the school. A federal District Court in California has ruled that there is no “substantial relationship” between his role with the school and the issues of the current litigation. (

Club Member May Sue Individually To Protest Ouster From Membership

Requirement for multiple plaintiffs to seek equitable remedies does not apply to suit to reclaim membership, court says

A member seeking to restore his membership rights in a nonprofit club in North Dakota may sue individually and does not need others to support his claim, the Supreme Court of North Dakota has ruled. It has reversed a trial court holding that an individual has to meet a threshold number of plaintiffs in order to bring suit. (Marhula v. Grand Forks Curling Club, Supreme Ct. N.D., No.

Court Can’t Limit Use of Trust Income To Coverage of Deficits at Hospital

Trial court sought to assure income would be used only for local hospital after its inclusion in larger system

When a bank trustee asked for guidance on how to distribute income from eight testamentary trusts left for the benefit of Bloomsburg Hospital in Pennsylvania, there wasn’t much debate about authorizing continued use of the trust income for the Hospital, even though the Hospital had been absorbed within a large regional healthcare system.

State May Require Donor List For Charitable Registration

Ninth Circuit says requirement does not violate First Amendment rights

California’s requirement to submit an unredacted list of major donors as part of its charitable solicitation registration materials does not violate the First Amendment, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The Court has affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction sought by a charity that wanted to remove the names of donors shown on Schedule B to the Form 990 that is a required part of the registration package. (Center for Competitive Politics v.

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SAY THAT AGAIN?

May 30, 2025

The loan agreement says: “All contractual rates of interest chargeable on the outstanding Term Loans shall continue to accrue and be paid even after default, maturity, acceleration, judgment, bankruptcy, insolvency proceedings of any kind or the happening of any event or occurrence similar or dissimilar.”

A former banker friend says that “any event or occurrence similar or dissimilar” is some lawyer “fancy talk” for “the kitchen sink!”

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