An appellate court in Pennsylvania has reversed a trial court decision that a pre-event release of liability signed by a rider in a charity bike ride was void against public policy.  The Commonwealth Court has held that such exculpatory releases are valid and enforceable.

A nonprofit lacks standing to sue the American Studies Association for damages for discrimination, an appellate court in New York has affirmed, when it has failed to sufficiently claim an “injury in fact” to itself or any of its individual members.  The Court has affirmed a trial court decision to dismiss the claim.

A self-proclaimed religious evangelist may not claim a charitable contribution deduction for a $6 payment to repair the “large and visible” crucifix he wears at all times during his community evangelism, the Tax Court has ruled.  It was only one of many claims totaling nearly $40,000 that the taxpayer claimed on his 2012 federal income tax return.  The Court denied most of them on the ground that they were for personal, rather than charitable, expenses, that they were not properly substantiated, and that they were not incurred in coordination with or supervised by a charitable org

A federal District Court in Massachusetts has dismissed a putative class action brought against Mount Ida College, its Board of Trustees and several officers by students upset by the abrupt closing of the institution.  They made various claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, contract and privacy.