Former income beneficiaries of a charitable remainder annuity trust who sold their entire interests to a for-profit company have no standing to sue the trust’s trustees and investment advisers for losses in trust value during the Great Recession, an appellate court in Nebraska has affirmed.  The Court has upheld a trial court decision granting summary judgment to the trustees and advisers.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ripped the Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department lawyers for failing to comply with a discovery order in the pending class action by Tea Party organizations contesting their treatment in the classification “scandal” several years ago.  It has denied an IRS request for a writ of mandamus to overrule the District Court’s order to produce the “Be On the Lookout” lists of organizations allegedly targeted for unfavorable treatment because of their political beliefs.

Volunteers for a nonprofit organization providing education and support services for people living with HIV and AIDS are not personally liable to an employee who voluntarily resigned after complaining about a hostile work environment they allegedly created for the employee.

Counsel for Penn State University, who purported to represent university employees at a grand jury investigation into the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, could not provide adequate counsel to them as individuals and was incompetent to testify as to her communications with them, an appellate court in Pennsylvania has ruled.

An alleged violation of a local zoning ordinance is not sufficient to deny real estate tax exemption for a nonprofit low-income housing developer, an appellate court in New York has ruled.  A town’s claim that a property is used for an office and four separate residences when it is zoned only for a two family dwelling does not prove that the use is not charitable. 

Alumnae of Wilson College in Pennsylvania have no standing to contest the state Department of Education’s approval of the College’s decision to become co-educational, the state’s Commonwealth Court has ruled.  They have no personal interest that is affected by the Department’s decision, the Court said.