On December 26, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated its own motions court order from only three days prior staying the district court preliminary injunction. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit noted the interest in preserving “the constitutional status quo while the merits panel considers the parties’ weighty substantive arguments…” Accordingly, the district court’s nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) has been reinstated, meaning that the injunction remains in place and filings are not required.
FinCEN noted the following: “In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.” Due to the reinstatement, there is not an enforceable due date, however, those who have not filed but are reporting companies required to do so should be ready to file upon short notice, depending upon further developments in these proceedings.
While FinCEN would be well within its rights to require immediate compliance and BOIR filing upon resolution of the appeal, FinCEN may grant a grace period similar to the two-week grace period provided earlier this week when the injunction was vacated.
We welcome you to contact Alex Gase at agase@leechtishman.com, or LaVonne Lawson at llawson@leechtishman.com with any questions about this litigation or to discuss your report.