Yet another update to the infamous BOI Report requirements… this one from January 23, 2025

Believe us, we’re even more sick of the phrase “BOI Report” than you are, but like an 80’s slasher villain, the “Corporate Transparency Act” (“CTA”) just will not stay dead!

To quote from one of the best movies ever made, The Princess Bride, “See, mostly dead is still slightly alive.”  As of January 23, 2025, the United States Supreme Court removed one major hurdle to the enactment of the CTA’s BOI Report requirement by reversing the Eastern District of Texas’ injunction declaring that the financial transparency portion of the CTA – which includes the BOI Report requirement – was “likely unconstitutional.”

Fear not: you don’t actually have to do anything just yet, as there’s still one more hurdle to clear. Texas’ other federal court opinion – Samantha Smith and Robert Means v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Case No. 6:24-CV-336 (E.D. Texas 1/7/2025) – which issued a similar injunction blocking enforcement of the BOI Report requirement not only remains intact but has yet to be even challenged on appeal by the U.S. Department of Justice. That said, this victory is almost certain to prompt such a challenge very soon, and it is difficult to imagine the appellate court attempting to side against SCOTUS.

So, for now, all you need to know is that is looks like many of you might have to file BOI Reports after all, at some indeterminant point in the future. Rest assured, we’ll let you know about any looming requirements and deadlines with plenty of time to spare. For most of you, that’s class dismissed!

But for all you policy wonks out there, SCOTUS’ brief published opinion on the matter raised some truly exciting possibilities. We don’t want to get too excited just yet, but the highest court in the land may have just signaled that it is running out of patience with the United States of Texas.

Justice Gorsuch, a President Trump appointee, took an entire paragraph in the Court’s one-page opinion to declare that, if it were up to him, SCOTUS would take over the case to determine “[W]hether a district court may issue universal injunctive relief.” In other words: Justice Gorsuch – speaking for the now-dominant conservative wing of the Court – just said that he doesn’t believe that a single federal court from a single state should be able to single-handedly overturn the entire federal government. 

Over the past several years, administrative agencies have been completely hamstrung by the Eastern District of Texas. Opponents to administrative action need only get their case before the Sherman Division – a remarkably easy task that sure feels suspiciously like forum-shopping – to have any given administrative action dismissed outright. But this time, Texas cavalierly attempted to overturn bi-partisan Congressional action, and this has apparently finally gotten SCOTUS’ attention.

With this single, offhand comment, Justice Gorsuch appeared to be sending a strong message: in the event this case – or a similar case – should come before SCOTUS again, they may very well look at whether it has the power to strip Texas of its power to legislate for the rest of the nation. One factor that may have led to Justice Gorsuch firing this warning shot was the fact that, in the case at hand, the plaintiffs didn’t even ask for a nationwide injunction; the Eastern District of Texas is so used to getting its way by unchallenged fiat that it literally took it upon itself to offer relief that wasn’t even asked for in the form of a nationwide injunction.

Now, let’s not get over our skis here: the most likely outcome is that the Eastern District of Texas heeds SCOTUS’ warning, backs down on this one issue, and plays it safe for the next year or so, before going right back to acting as America’s de facto ruling body. In fact, it’s likely that a reversion to the status quo might even happen sooner due to political pressure from the many special-interest groups that benefit from their easy access to the Eastern District of Texas. But the fact that this warning came from the currently-empowered conservative wing of the Court – and not, say, from Justice Brown or Justice Sotomayor – gives us just enough reason to hope that maybe the Eastern District of Texas’ reign over every other state in the union might come to an end at some point soon. If nothing else, Justice Gorsuch has given them a reason to keep their heads down for the near future.