Laurel Lee Pedot was a long-time resident of The Villas at Sunny Acres in Thornton, CO when she executed a will and accompanying trust in 1989.  The trust provided that the residue of her estate would be granted to “Sunny Acres Villa, Inc., Foundation Trust, a Colorado non-profit corporation.”

In 1991, she amended the trust to provide that the residue should go to the Foundation Trust, “to be used exclusively in connection with The Villas at Sunny Acres community and no other community operated by Sunny Acres Villa, Inc.”

A divided Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a trial court decision holding that civil courts lacked jurisdiction to decide a dispute between The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and Concordia University, which had been established by the Church. A three-judge panel, writing three separate opinions, has held that the case can proceed.

A trial court in Pennsylvania has said “no” in a case of a land trust seeking real estate tax exemption. The Commonwealth Court, an intermediate appellate court, has remanded the case for the trial court to reconsider.

The Misingwa Land Trust acquired several parcels of land in Beaver County in 2020 and 2021.  The Trust was established for conservation and preservation of lands having historical significance or that constitute open space or natural areas.  It sought real estate tax exemption for 2022 and thereafter.

The number of organizations formally recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt from federal income tax has reached nearly 2.1 million, the IRS has recently announced in its 2025 Data Book. More than 1.9 million of these are exempt under the 29 subsections of section 501(c) of the Tax Code, with 1.6 million of these exempt as 501(c)(3) charities.  Approximately 120,000 of the charities are private foundations.  The 1.9 million number does not include an estimated 320,000 churches which are not required to

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has affirmed a trial court decision prohibiting a local municipality from imposing a “business privilege tax” on membership dues and assessments of private clubs.  Although the clubs may be taxed on non-member activities like renting golf carts, sales at the pro shops, and locker room services, the Court said that the members were not doing business with themselves.

The federal District Court in the District of Columbia (James E. Boasberg) has issued preliminary injunctions to prevent the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing Civil Investigation Demands against advocates and providers of transgender care to individuals.  In two separate companion opinions, the Court has found that demands for voluminous records from the Endocrine Society and the World Health Association for Transgender Health have a likelihood of success on their claim of First Amendment retaliation.

The federal District Court in Manhattan (Colleen McMahon) has enjoined the largest mass termination of previously awarded grants in the history of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  More than 1,400 grants representing over $100 million in congressionally appropriated funds awarded to scholars, writers, research institutions and other humanities organizations were terminated in April 2025 because, according to the government defendants, they were intended to implement President Trump’s directives to eliminate grants associated with diversity, equity and inclusion.