News & Analysis as of

Churches

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP

Federal Court Decision Empowers West Virginia Churches with New Legal Protections

A recent federal court decision has ruled that West Virginia must allow churches to incorporate, marking a significant shift in how religious organizations in the state can operate. This ruling opens up new opportunities for...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Important Tax Compliance Update for Church Operations: New State Ruling Impacts Lodging and Food Services

Prior to this opinion, you might have assumed that funds your church charged for providing food, beverages, or lodging related to a religious activity were tax-exempt and not liable for state sales tax. We are writing to...more

Allen Matkins

In Determining Whether A Corporation Qualifies As A Religious Corporation, Words Speak Louder Than Actions.

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California readers most likely are aware of the fact that California's nonprofit corporate law is triadic.  Thus, it possible to organize a nonprofit corporation as a public benefit corporation, a mutual benefit corporation...more

Robinson+Cole RLUIPA Defense

Chicago’s Application of Parking Regulations Violates RLUIPA

In Immanuel Baptist Church v. City of Chicago, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently ruled that the City of Chicago had violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons...more

Sherman & Howard L.L.C.

Don't Count on Religious Freedom Arguments to Overturn Religious Worker Visa Denials

Churches and other religious organizations can file petitions to sponsor foreign workers for religious worker (R-1) status in the United States—a status that can last up to five years. However, poor planning and well-meaning...more

Allen Matkins

Can Any Superior Court Judge Access Your Church's Books?

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The California Corporations Code allows for the incorporation of a corporation sole by the bishop, chief priest, presiding elder, or other presiding officer of any religious denomination, society, or church, for the purpose...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Wisconsin Real Estate Property Taxes: Biennial Exemption Report Filing Deadline – March 31, 2024

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The City of MilwaukeeHouse with Calculator (and various other municipalities) has sent its Biennial Property Tax Exemption Report and Filing Fee Notices. Owners of tax-exempt real property in Wisconsin must file a Form PC-220...more

Allen Matkins

This Corporation Was Harmed Even Before It Was Incorporated!

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The Church of the Celestial Heart is a California nonprofit religious corporation seeks to import and use a sacramental tea.  It so happens that this tea, which is also called Daime or ayahuasca, carries trace amounts of a...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

403(b) Plans - Not Your Average Salary Deferral Plan

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Congress continues to pass laws that move 403(b) plans ever closer to 401(k) plans, but 403(b) plans remain distinct. Understanding these differences allows you to maintain a compliant plan that best serves the needs of your...more

Roetzel & Andress

Is the After School Satan Club Coming to Your School District?

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The decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Saucon Valley School District, ___ F.Supp.3d ___, 2023 WL 3182934, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75001 (May 1, 2023) is a...more

Littler

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30): What Is it and Where in Canada Is it Observed as a Statutory Holiday?

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What is It? The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was established in 2008 to document the history and legacy of residential schools, which were operated between the late 1800s and the late 1990s by the...more

Venable LLP

"Yes in God's Back Yard" Legislation Is the Next Tool to Battle the Housing Crisis

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On October 11, 2023, Governor Newsom signed SB 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act (also known as "Yes in God's Back Yard" (YIGBY)), which promises to be one of the momentous housing bills of 2023. Sponsored by...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: July 2023

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Supreme Court Decides Freedom of Speech Trumps Public Accommodations Law In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, No. 21-476 (June 30, 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court reversed 6-3 the lower courts' denial of the injunction the plaintiff...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: March 2023

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Donors State Claims for Misuse of Their Funds, But Not as a Class Action - In Carrier v. Ravi Zacharias Int'l Ministries, Inc. No. 1:21-CV-3161-TWT, 2022 WL 1540206 (N.D. Ga. May 13, 2022) and Carrier v. Ravi Zacharias...more

Freeman Law

Church Inquiries and Examinations by the IRS | A Look at Section 7611 and Its Exceptions

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IRS Inquiries and Examinations, Generally – Sections 6201 and 7602. Generally, the IRS is authorized and required by 26 U.S.C. § 6201(a) “to make the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes” imposed by the...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: January 2023

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Vaccination Mandate Conforms with First Amendment In Kane v. De Blasio, No. 21 Civ. 7863, 21 Civ. 8773, 2022 WL 3701183 (S.D. N.Y. Aug. 26, 2022), the district court ruled that New York City Department of Education employees...more

Allen Matkins

Sustainable Development and Land Use Update - December 2022

Allen Matkins on

The Mercury News – December 6- Just one day after the start of the new legislative session, Senator Scott Wiener announced Senate Bill 4 — the “Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act.” The bill would remove red tape for...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

North Carolina Supreme Court Reluctant to Intervene in Church Dispute

​​​​​​​U.S. courts have traditionally been reluctant to become involved in internal disputes within a religious organization. These concerns are based on First Amendment prohibitions against interfering with a church’s or...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

North Carolina Supreme Court Reluctant to Intervene in Church Dispute

​​​​​​​U.S. courts have traditionally been reluctant to become involved in internal disputes within a religious organization. These concerns are based on First Amendment prohibitions against interfering with a church’s or...more

Goulston & Storrs PC

Law of the Land - Real Estate Litigation Newsletter - August 2022, Volume I, Issue XIV

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CASES OF NOTE - GRAVE MATTERS: THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTIES CONTAINING BURIAL SITES - Church of the Holy Spirit of Wayland v. Heinrich, 2022 WL 1419702, 101 Mass. App. Ct. 32 (2022)....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: July 2022

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Maine Scholarship Program Excluding Sectarian Schools Unconstitutional. In Carson v. Makin, 142 S.Ct. 1987 (2022), the U.S. Supreme Court struck a tuition assistance program that requires school districts to transmit payment...more

Allen Matkins

Nonprofit Corporations Need Not File One Of These . . .

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Section 17910 of the California Business & Professions Code requires every person who regularly transacts business in California for profit under a fictitious business name to file a fictitious business name statement. ...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

A Business Court Finds There is Little “Neutral” Ground in Disputes Over Church Business

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An intra-congregational dispute over control of church bank accounts led the Wakefield Missionary Baptist Church to a schism that forced out a senior pastor, saw church doors locked, and resulted in competing factions...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: February 2022

Holland & Knight LLP on

Religious Exemption to States' Mandatory Vaccination Statute Not Necessary In Does 1-6 v. Mills, No. 1:21-cv-00242, 2021 WL 4783626 (D. Me. Oct. 13, 2021), the court denied injunctive relief to plaintiff healthcare workers...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

Church Plan Litigation – Out of the ERISA Woods Into the State Law Forest

If you thought that church plan litigation was effectively over after the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the traditional interpretation of the ERISA church plan definition in its 2017 decision in Advocate Health Care...more

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