The Freedom from Religion Foundation and two of its top officers lack standing to challenge the “parsonage allowance” exemption for housing expenses of “ministers of the gospel,” the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held. The Court said the officers had no standing because, even though they received a housing allowance and paid tax on it, they had not actually applied for the exemption.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations Action Network (“CAIR”) is not liable to individuals claiming that they suffered damages when an “attorney” with the CAIR chapter in Virginia failed to follow through on promises actions to help them with their legal problems. The federal District Court in the District of Columbia has granted summary judgment to CAIR after rejecting several theories of liability for the actions of its chapter. (
A taxing authority does not have to give notice of an impending tax sale of charitable real estate to the state Attorney General, an appellate court in New York has ruled. It has granted motions to dismiss a challenge to the sale of 14 separate parcels of land filed by an unincorporated charitable trust. (Turtle Island Trust v. County of Clinton, Supreme Ct., NY, App. Div., Third Dept., 2/26/15.)
An attorney who failed to have a client sign an amendment to his living trust while getting him to sign amendments to his will and other documents may be liable for legal malpractice to family members the client wanted to favor over a number of charities, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has held. The Court has reversed a trial court dismissal of the claims and allowed the family members to pursue a malpractice claim against the lawyer and his firm. (E
In the latest development in a long-running bankruptcy case involving a failed nursing home in Pittsburgh, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a jury verdict of joint and several liability of $2.25 million in compensatory damages for breach of fiduciary duty against 15 officers and directors of the home but has reversed the award of $350,000 each in punitive damages against five directors. It has refused to reverse, however, a punitive damage judgment of $1 million against the CEO and $750,000 against the CFO.
