A federal District Court in Philadelphia (Cynthia M. Rufe) has issued a preliminary injunction ordering the National Park Service to restore a display commemorating the role of enslaved persons who lived in the house that George Washington occupied while serving as the first President of the United States. The House display is part of Independence National Historical Park, located a block away from Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
A new Pennsylvania law touted as the first of its kind in the nation provides that the estates of people who die without a will and without family will be awarded to an endowed fund at a local community foundation rather than to the state treasury.
The bill was promoted by the state Registers of Wills and Clerks of Orphans’ Courts Association and the Pennsylvania Community Foundations Association. It was passed unanimously by the Legislature in November 2025 and went into effect in January 2026. (Pennsylvania has had one of the most evenly divided Legislatures in the nation. In 2025, the Republicans held a three-seat advantage in the 50-member Senate, while Democrats held a one-seat advantage in the 203-member House.)
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An individual taxpayer must pay income tax on money he received personally and deposited in his own bank account when he sought to deduct the payments as contributions received on behalf of a charity. The Tax Court has ruled that the taxpayer had failed to demonstrate that deposits in his bank account were charitable contributions or were donations he collected on behalf of a charity.
The Supreme Court of Missouri has held that a state statute prohibiting homeowners association covenants that limit solar panel installation can be applied to invalidate previously existing prohibitions. The Court has said it does not violate the Constitutional principle against impairing existing contracts.
The federal District Court in the District of Columbia (Tanya S. Chutkan) has preliminarily enjoined attempted cutbacks in programs to aid students from disadvantaged backgrounds overcome barriers to post-secondary education (the “TRIO programs”). The Department of Education had stopped the funds on the grounds that they violated the Administration’s statement that programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) are against the law.
A Bankruptcy Court in Colorado has refused to confirm a Plan of Reorganization in Bankruptcy when the debtor seeks to use the proceeding to impose new conditions on a 99-year lease. The Plan was proposed by the Aspen Chapel, which had entered into the lease with the Aspen Jewish Congregation. The Congregation objected to confirmation of the Plan.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a District Court decision holding that the directors of a Florida nonprofit corporation have a fiduciary duty only to the corporation and not to the individual members. (See Nonprofit Issues®, Vol. XXXV, No. 1)
