The California Supreme Court has overruled an appellate court decision that said that a director of a charitable corporation suing other directors for breach of fiduciary duty lost her standing to sue when she was not re-elected to the board during the litigation.  (See Nonprofit Issues® Vol. XXXI, No. 3.). The Supreme Court has unanimously held that “continuous relationship” is not required to continue the litigation under the state’s Nonprofit Corporation Law.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the imposition of an $8,465,000 penalty for the promoter of a “bogus tax scheme” involving the donation of timeshare properties for charity.  (See Nonprofit Issues® Vol. XXXII, No. 1.)  In doing so, the Court affirmed a trial court determination on the scope of the “activity” by which the scheme should be measured for imposition of the penalties.

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire has held that the traditional rules for “special interest” standing to intervene in a proceeding to change the purpose of a charitable gift are no longer applicable to a completed charitable gift for which a change in purpose is being requested under the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act.  It has denied the executor of an estate the right to intervene in a contest seeking to modify the use of a charitable bequest.

A Black woman employee fails to state an actionable claim for a hostile work environment resulting from receipt of three anonymous racist letters and other alleged harassment, a federal District Court has held, when the letters were not imputable to the employer.  It has also dismissed the employee’s claims for retaliation and failure to accommodate her post traumatic stress disorder.