The U.S. Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order yesterday afternoon to stay Judge Amos Mazzant’s order (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Sherman Division) suspending enforcement of the CTA. This order puts the appeal of Judge Mazzant’s order on hold pending completion of the appeals process at the 5th Circuit regarding the Judge’s order. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked the Supreme Court to put Judge Mazzant’s order on hold and allow the government to enforce the laws while the appeal process played out in the 5th Circuit and, if necessary, the Supreme Court. She also asked for the Supreme Court to rule on the appropriateness of universal injunctions, which the court failed to do.
As a result, FinCEN is technically allowed to immediately begin enforcing the CTA. However, a posting on the FinCEN website this morning indicates that Reporting Companies are still not required to filed beneficial ownership information as a nationwide order issued by a different Texas judge (Smith v. U.S. Department of Treasury) still remains in place as the U.S. Supreme Court’s action was only with respect to Texas Top Shop v. Garland (the Sherman case). Reporting Companies will also be exempt from any liability for failing to file BOI while the Smith order is in place.