Section 1983 of Title 42 of the U.S. Code (the Civil Rights Act of 1866) provides a civil remedy against any person who violates a plaintiff’s federal civil rights while acting “under color of state law.” A group of church members in Indiana sued another group of church members for violation of such civil rights, but had their complaint dismissed because they couldn’t show that any of the defendants was operating “under color of state law.”
The National Council of Nonprofits, which has been in the forefront of challenging the “pauses” and cutbacks in federal contracts for nonprofit organizations under the Trump Administration, has warned of numerous threats to nonprofits in the Tax Bill being considered by the House of Representatives. It has urged nonprofits to contact their legislators to oppose new taxes and to support new incentives for charitable giving.
The federal District Court in New Hampshire (Landya B. McCaffrey) has granted a preliminary injunction against the U.S.
A federal District Court in Maryland (Stephanie A. Gallagher) has stayed the U.S. Department of Education from implementing its February 24 “Dear Colleague” letter to educational institutions. The letter requires them to follow the Department’s interpretation of law eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion in their programs. The case was brought by the American Federation of Teachers, its Maryland affiliate, the American Sociological Association, and a public school district in Eugene, OR.
Joseph J. Zajac, III had a bad day in the Tax Court when he failed to convince the Court that he was entitled to a series of claimed deductions for personal, business and charitable expenses. He was denied fully or partially for claims based on proceeds of a settlement claim against a municipality for his allegedly improper weekend incarceration after he was arrested on charges of assault and battery against his wife, for moving expenses, for vehicle expenses and depreciation, for meals, rent and utilities, and for gifts of furniture, clothing and tools to charity.
A product manager for a nonprofit corporation who alleged that he objected to and refused to participate in the company’s illegal activity has been permitted to proceed with whistleblower claims for retaliation under the federal False Claims Act and the Florida state whistleblower law. A federal District Court in Florida has denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
Roger Colinvaux, a law professor at the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University and a widely recognized expert in the law of charities, has argued in an upcoming law review article that private charities generally have the right to engage in “remedial discrimination.”
He argues that the Fearless Fund case decided by a divided panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which holds that a venture capital fund may not run an award contest open only to black women entrepreneurs (See Nonprofit Issues®, Vol. XXXIV, No. 3), was wrongly decided. It would “upend decades of precedent in charity law, place at risk millions of dollars of charitable funds set aside for the benefit of racial groups, including at religious charities, and undermine the principle of philanthropic freedom,” he says.
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