In the latest CTA-BOI legal development on Thursday, January 23, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the government’s motion to stay a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in the case of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al., No. 4:24-cv-00478 (E.D. Tex.). However, as a separate nationwide order, issued by a different federal judge in the case of Smith et al v. United States Department of The Treasury et al, No. 6:2024cv00336 – Document 30 (E.D. Tex. 2025) remains in place, reporting companies are NOT currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN despite the Supreme Court’s January 23 action in the Texas Top Cop Shop case.

As previously reported, on December 3, 2024, in the case of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al., No. 4:24-cv-00478 (E.D. Tex.), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order granting a nationwide preliminary injunction against enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act’s (“CTA”) BOI reporting requirements.

On Monday, December 23, 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the nationwide preliminary injunction, which meant that the injunction was no longer in effect. However, on December 26, 2024, a different panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a new order effectively reinstating the nationwide preliminary injunction. As a result, the beneficial ownership reporting requirements of the CTA were again paused and enforcement was suspended pending further proceedings.

FinCEN updated its alert (“Alert”) guidance on January 24, 2025, acknowledging that in light of the ongoing legal developments, 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 nationwide order in the Smith et al v. United States Department of The Treasury case remains in force. However, FinCEN noted that reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.