The Internal Revenue Service does not have the statutory power to withdraw a previously issued letter revoking the charitable status of a nonprofit organization or the accompanying report that spelled out the reasons for the decision. The Tax Court has denied the request from an organization that reached a settlement with the IRS that involved withdrawing the original notice and issuance of a new one.
The right to claim damages from a retaliatory discharge is a right of employees whose firing violates a clear mandate of public policy, an appellate court in Illinois has said. It is not a right that extends to a volunteer officer of a nonprofit professional association.
When a female student was raped by a heavily drinking fraternity member during a Halloween party at the fraternity house, can the fraternity be liable for damages under the doctrine of “negligence per se” for failing to comply with the University’s administrative rules for fraternity parties? The Court of Appeals of Oregon has reversed a trial court decision granting summary judgment to dismiss the case, and has allowed the woman to proceed against the fraternity under theories of premises liability, failure to control, and negligence per se.
A single member limited liability company organized to conduct “any legal business enterprise” is not entitled to real estate tax exemption, even though the single member is a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey has ruled.
Single member limited liability companies are considered “disregarded entities” under federal tax law, and the tax exempt status of the single member is deemed applicable to the LLC. But local real estate exemptions are not so clearly derivative.
A nonprofit retirement residence providing additional personal services to residents for a fee is neither a charitable nor benevolent association and is not entitled to real estate tax exemption, the Supreme Court of Wyoming has held.
The host parents of a foreign exchange student are not liable for damages arising from the skiing death of the student, even if they committed ordinary negligence in failing to warn about risks on the mountain, a federal District Court in Montana has held. They are protected against liability by both the federal and state Volunteer Protection Acts. (Waschle v. Winter Sports, D. MT, No. CV 13-309, 9/4/15.)
An appellate court in Utah has ruled that a nonprofit homeowners’ association is not required to provide anything more than the names and addresses of other members upon request of a member and is not required to give email addresses or telephone numbers held by the association. (Walker I Investments v. Sunpeak Association, Ct. of App., UT, No. 20140085-CA, 8/27/15.)
The Department of Justice found evidence of mismanagement, poor judgment and institutional inertia in the Internal Revenue Service’s handling of applications for 501(c)(4) tax-exemption by Tea Party and other politically oriented organizations but no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political, discriminatory, corrupt or other inappropriate motives that would support a criminal prosecution. The conclusion was recently set forth in a letter dated October 23 from the DOJ to the Chair and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
