Sponsored By

Enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act May ResumeEnforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act May Resume

The DOJ has filed a notice of appeal and a motion to stay the injunction.

+1
David Rabinowitz, Jeffrey M. Davisand 1 more

February 12, 2025

1 Min Read
U.S. Department of Justice DOJ seal
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

On Feb. 5, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal and a motion to stay the preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act entered in Smith v. Department of the Treasury in the Eastern District of Texas. The DOJ is asking the Court of Appeals to stay the injunction pending disposition of the appeal. If the DOJ’s motion is granted, beneficial owner information report (BOIR) filing requirements under the CTA would be reinstated and remain in effect unless the District Court’s decision were to be affirmed.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has announced on its website that if the injunction in Smith is lifted pending DOJ’s appeal, reporting companies will only have 30 days from the day the stay is lifted to comply with the CTA reporting requirement and file BOIRs. At its option, FinCEN may, during that 30-day period, choose to modify further deadlines or reporting requirements for “lower-risk entities, including many U.S. small businesses, while prioritizing reporting for those entities that pose the most significant national security risks.” Currently, FinCEN is accepting voluntary filings of BOIRs; filing isn’t currently mandatory. However, given the short 30-day compliance window if the injunction is lifted, we would caution reporting companies under the CTA to, at a minimum, begin to compile the requisite information to meet the filing deadline and to keep abreast of developments in the fast-moving maelstrom of CTA enforcement related rulings and orders, and FinCEN filing deadlines.  

About the Authors

David Rabinowitz

Partner, Moses Singer

David Rabinowitz, a partner in Moses Singer's Litigation, Intellectual Property and Law Firms practices, has been a partner with the firm since 1985.

Within a broad commercial litigation and litigation counseling practice, David has focused in the substantive areas of financial industry litigation, including corporate trusts and letters of credit, trusts and estates, intellectual property, contracts and employment.

David has represented major financial institutions in matters relating to indenture trusts, letters of credit, negotiable instruments and electronic transfers, real estate and cross-border judgment enforcement.

In the trusts and estates area, David has represented fiduciaries and beneficiaries in fiduciary accountings, will and trust construction and trust and estate administration. These have included representing large financial institutions in major Surrogate’s Court litigations including claims ranging up to $2 billion for mismanagement of trusts.  He has represented individuals and charitable institutions in disputes over dispositions from estates.  He has represented individuals in will contests, claims to restore allegedly alienated property to estates, and other claims against estates.  He has represented individuals as fiduciaries in claims of improper estate administration and claims to enforce dispositions under wills.

In the area of intellectual property, David has represented entertainment, sports and media companies, talent and rights owners in litigated and non-litigated matters concerning contracts and licenses, copyright, trademark and unfair competition, right of publicity, and defamation and related free speech issues, including infringement claims and inter partes proceedings in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

In the healthcare industry, Mr. Rabinowitz has assisted healthcare provider organization, HMOs and other healthcare institutions with both dispute resolution, including litigation, and counseling. He has helped resolve disputes concerning provider reimbursement, commissions to third parties for recruiting HMO members, privileged communications relating to information concerning facility compliance analysis, physician board certification removal proceeding relating to cheating scandal, whistleblower claims relating to privacy breaches, claims of pharmacy in insurer receivership, commissions to employees for recruiting HMO members, removal of provider from HMO network, employment discrimination, and disability discrimination against a disabled patient. On the counseling side, he has assisted institutions with designing a research information collection survey and an investigation into possible hospital security breaches, HIPAA compliance programs, including analysis of requirements of regulations and assessments of institutional compliance and compliance with research rules, analysis of the law governing release of protected health information to doctors or their malpractice counsel or experts in court cases without the consent of the patient, under both HIPAA and state law, interaction between electronic privacy laws and HIPAA, deductions from physicians’ wages by hospitals and analysis of liquidated damages clauses in researcher agreements.

David has also represented both employers and employees in disputes concerning employment agreements, termination of employment and employment discrimination, as well as negotiations of employment agreements.

David represents clients in arbitrations and other alternative dispute resolution procedures as well as state and federal courts throughout the United States.

David is a regular speaker on legal ethics.  He has lectured and participated on panels before The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the American Bar Association, the Practicing Law Institute, The Institute of International Banking Law & Practice, New York Women In Film & Television, The Copyright Society of the U.S.A., the Licensing International Annual Convention and the Massachusetts Software Council.  He has taught Copyright Law at Seton Hall Law School as an adjunct professor. He is a member and former trustee of The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. David has published articles which have appeared in Advertising Age, Entertainment Law Reporter, The Entertainment Publishing and the Arts Handbook, the Journal of The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. and Practical Lawyer. He has written a series of articles on Internet Law entitled "Web Site Story," which appeared in American Lawyer's Corporate Counsel magazine.

Jeffrey M. Davis

Partner, Co-chair - Corporate Practice Group, Moses Singer

Jeff is Partner and Co-Chair of Moses Singer's Corporate practice group and Leader of the Hospitality Industry practice. He advises on a broad range of general corporate matters affecting middle market companies, such as marketing services, media, healthcare, consumer products, telecommunications, manufacturing, retail, and financial services. He is particularly focused the legal needs facing the advertising and public relations industries and the hotel and hospitality industries, identifying and solving potential risks unique to these businesses.

Jeff provides assistance in negotiating financing transactions such as equity, venture capital, and public and private debt.  He has substantial experience advising clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, employment and compensation arrangements, licensing agreements, and the formation and operation of partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations, divestitures, financings, and general corporate law.

Jeff’s extensive experience representing advertising and public relations firms includes mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financings, and general corporate law.

For the hotel and hospitality industry, Jeff assists owners, developers and operators in the negotiation of management, technical services, and trademark licensing agreements. He represents large hotel and leisure companies as well as private investors.

In the healthcare industry, Jeff had advised healthcare institutions, healthcare providers, and others providing services to the healthcare industry in a wide range of activities, including joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, investments, negotiation of contracts (including for the provision of publishing and media and marketing services) and other related matters.

Jeff is recognized as an AV Preeminent® lawyer and one of New York's Top Rated Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell®. He was selected as a finalist for the 2014 New York Smart ESQ Attorney of the Year Award sponsored by Smart CEO Magazine.

Allan Grauberd

Partner, Moses Singer

Allan Grauberd is the Leader of Moses Singer’s Securities, Capital Markets & Financing practice.  He practices primarily in the corporate and securities areas including venture capital and private placement transactions, mergers and acquisitions involving both public and privately held companies, representation of corporate boards, initial and secondary public offerings, executive compensation, general representation of public companies with respect to ongoing securities and regulatory compliance, and international securities offerings and exchange offers, including with respect to American Depositary Receipts offerings.

Allan has completed a large number of acquisition and divestiture transactions in a wide range of industries, with often complex structural issues and with diverse transaction participants, including private equity funds and strategic buyers and sellers, both domestic and internationally.

Allan provides general representation for a variety of companies in a broad spectrum of industries, in the areas of corporate finance, development of equity based compensation plans; shareholder relations, and intellectual property licensing.  He regularly represents venture capital funds with respect to their portfolio investments.  He has also been active in dealing with complex IRC Section 280G issues arising in M&A transactions, including conducting “cleansing” votes. Allan has also counseled non-US businesses with respect to compliance with CFIUS in their US investments. He has also provided support in a variety of securities fraud litigation matters, as well as bankruptcy restructuring involving securities exchange offers. Allan has represented a variety of companies in international distribution and licensing arrangements.

Allan is rated AV Preeminent, the highest legal ability and ethical standards by Martindale-Hubbell in Securities Law.