Corporate Transparency Act Update – Nationwide Injunction Back in Place
Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) news in December 2024 has been plentiful.[1] Here is the running recap of significant December events:
- On December 3, 2024, Judge Amos L. Mazzant of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division[2] issued a nationwide, preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the CTA.
- Mid-afternoon on December 23, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the Eastern District of Texas’s nationwide preliminary injunction reinstating the CTA, and by implication, the December 31, 2024, compliance deadline for reporting companies formed before January 1, 2024.[3]
- Later in the evening of December 23, 2024, FinCEN extended certain compliance deadlines because of the injunction and its subsequent stay by the Fifth Circuit.[4]
- On December 26, the full panel of the United States Court of Appeals stayed the portion of the December 23, 2024, order of the Fifth Circuit’s motions panel that lifted the nationwide injunction.[5] As such, the nationwide injunction first issued by the Eastern District of Texas on December 3, 2024 is back in effect.
As of December 26, 2024, the obligation of each reporting company to comply with the CTA is on hold once again. This will continue to be a fluid situation as cases on the CTA are moving through the Fifth Circuit and courts in other jurisdictions. The Fifth Circuit still has this appeal before it on the merits, plans to review it on an expedited basis and that proceeding could modify the injunction once again. As of now, the Fifth Circuit has not scheduled a hearing on the merits.
Williams Mullen will continue to monitor the impact of this and other rulings, subsequent action by this court, and any ensuing appeals along with FinCEN’s implementation of the CTA. We will provide updates and alerts when warranted.
This article contains general, condensed summaries of actual legal matters, regulations, and opinions for informational purposes. It is not meant to be and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers with particular needs on specific issues should retain the services of competent counsel.
[1] The CTA was enacted into law on January 1, 2021, as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. See, William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Pub. L. 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 §§ 6001-6511 (2020).
[2] Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al., v. Merrick Garland, Attorney General of the United States, et al., Civil Action No. 4:24-CV-478 (December 3, 2024, E.D. Texas). A copy of the court’s order is available here.
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