Author: Bailey Glasser

Client Alert: CTA Springs Back into Action – New BOI Report Filing Deadline Set for March 21, 2025

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Mark your calendars. After months of legal back and forth, the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) reporting requirements are back in effect, for now, with a new deadline of March 21, 2025.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas lifted its nationwide preliminary injunction, aligning with the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision earlier this year to stay a similar nationwide injunction. Consequently, reporting obligations are back on and FinCEN has extended the filing deadline to March 21, 2025.

Action Steps:
✅ Assess Your Status and Compile Ownership and Control Information: Assess if your entity qualifies as a “reporting company” under the CTA and gather the most up to date ownership and control information for your entity.
✅ Obtain FinCEN IDs or Identifying Information: Collect identifying information for each person who qualifies as a “beneficial owner” under the CTA. Encourage beneficial owners to secure a FinCEN ID to streamline reporting.
✅ Prepare for Submission: Be ready to file initial, updated, or corrected Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reports by the March 21 deadline using FinCEN’s E-Filing system.
✅ Stay Informed: Monitor ongoing federal litigation and potential legislative changes affecting CTA requirements.

FinCEN acknowledges that reporting companies may need additional time to meet the March 21 deadline and has stated that if it opts to modify the deadline, an update will be shared before that date. Additionally, in the coming months, FinCEN intends to revise reporting rules to reduce burdens for low-risk entities, including U.S. small businesses, while focusing on entities posing greater national security risks. This may include developing additional reporting exemptions.

Our CTA team will keep you updated on the latest developments. To read the full Client Alert, visit here.

For more information on our CTA team, visit their bios here:
Lorren Patterson
Paul-Kalvin Collins
Japera Parker

BG Trial Team Begins J&J Bad Faith Bankruptcy Trial in Texas

A Bailey Glasser trial team heads to court today in Texas to contest the third attempt by Johnson & Johnson to deny people injured by its talc products their day in court as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

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A Bailey Glasser trial team heads to court today in Texas to contest the third attempt by Johnson & Johnson to deny people injured by its talc products their day in court as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Our team in Texas is being led by founding partner Brian A. Glasser, Mass Tort Practice Group Leader David L. Selby, Electronically Stored Information Practice Group Leader Katherine E. Charonko, and litigator Elizabeth L. Stryker. Additional members of the BG team includes Bankruptcy Practice Group Leader Jonathan Gold, partner D. Todd Mathews, and of counsel Thomas B. Bennett, and our co-counsel includes the firms of Otterbourg P.C. and Lawson & Moshenberg PLLC.

In this third bite at the bankruptcy apple, J&J subsidiary Red River Talc LLC is attempting to use the “Texas two-step” strategy, which is when a company splits itself, assigns liabilities to a newly created entity, and places that entity into bankruptcy to address claims involving asbestos-contaminated talc. J&J’s prior two talc liability spin-offs had their Chapter 11 cases dismissed as bad faith filings.

In 2022, J&J attempted its first “Texas two-step” Chapter 11 in New Jersey. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit dismissed that case, finding the spinoff wasn’t actually financially distressed and didn’t qualify for Chapter 11. Relying on the Third Circuit’s ruling, a New Jersey bankruptcy court tossed J&J’s second talc spinoff bankruptcy last year. Now J&J is taking another run at bankruptcy protection in what it perceives to be a more friendly Texas bankruptcy court.

Our team represents the Coalition of Counsel for Justice for Talc Claimants before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The case is In re: Red River Talc LLC, case number 4:24-bk-90505, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

BG Secures Key Federal Appellate Victory in Pay-to-Pay Litigation

A BG consumer protection team secured a significant appellate victory for mortgage holders.

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Bailey & Glasser, LLP’s Pay-to-Pay team—comprised of partner James Kauffman, Consumer Litigation Practice Group Leader Patricia Kipnis, and attorneys Denali Hedrick and Allison Bruff—secured a significant appellate victory for mortgage holders. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a ruling against mortgage servicer Ocwen Loan Servicing/PHH Mortgage Corporation, finding that the company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by charging consumers optional fees of $7.50 to $12 for making expedited mortgage payments online or by phone.

This case resulted from a strategic, long-term approach by the litigation team to address split authority in district courts in the Eleventh Circuit and nationwide regarding whether the FDCPA prohibits loan servicers from collecting “pay-to-pay” or “convenience” fees for certain payment methods. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that the FDCPA does prohibit such fees and awarded judgment to plaintiffs Sheryl Glover and Cathy Booze.

When Ocwen/PHH appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, the Bailey Glasser team, alongside co-counsel from Tycko & Zavareei, leveraged prior success on this issue in the Fourth Circuit and received support from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as amicus curiae. During oral arguments in November, Ocwen faced tough questioning from the appellate panel. In its ruling issued on February 4, 2025, the court held: “Ocwen violated the FDCPA because it is a ‘debt collector’ who charged an ‘amount’ that was not ‘expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law.’”

This decision strengthens Bailey Glasser’s ongoing efforts to hold financial institutions accountable for unlawful payment processing fees and further bolsters the team’s momentum in Pay-to-Pay litigation, providing key supplemental authority in multiple ongoing cases.

To read the full Eleventh Circuit opinion visit here.

BG Releases 2024 in Review Report

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2024 marked a milestone for Bailey & Glasser, LLP as we celebrated 25 years since our founding on March 1, 1999. As founding partner Brian Glasser said back then, “I can’t tell you how great it is to come to work just plain excited.” For over 25 years, that passion has driven our dedication to practicing law while making a meaningful impact on our clients and communities—work that remains at the core of BG today.

This “2024 Year in Review” highlights our accomplishments from the past year, including work for our valued clients, introductions to new partners and lawyers, celebrations like our 25th anniversary celebration at our Washington, D.C. office, nationwide recognitions, and a flashback to 1999 from the BG Archives. Notable victories highlighted include a $40 million jury verdict in a Texas corporate fraud case, compassionate advocacy for abuse survivors and consumers injured by defective products, precedent-setting ERISA rulings on behalf of retirees in courts nationwide, a special section highlighting our litigation and corporate work in the energy industry, and over $1 billion in closed deals for the West Virginia Investment Management Board, and so much more.

Read the BG 2024 Year in Review here.

Client Alert: “The Rollercoaster Ride Continues: CTA Reporting Obligations Still on Hold”

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The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) continues to take reporting companies on a roller coaster ride. Now, there are not just one, but two Eastern District of Texas federal cases challenging the requirement for certain companies to disclose their beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).

While you should hold on tight with your seatbelt fastened, the bottom line is that, for the time being, the reporting requirements are still on hold.

What’s Happening?
Two separate cases in the Eastern District of Texas have led to nationwide injunctions blocking enforcement of CTA’s beneficial ownership reporting requirements. The Supreme Court of the United States briefly reinstated the reporting requirement in Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland, but a second case, Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, has put reporting on hold again. Now, the government has appealed the Smith injunction with FinCEN indicating it will briefly extend reporting deadlines and potentially modify its requirements altogether for lower-risk entities, should the government succeed.

What It Means for Businesses:
✅ No Immediate Filing Required – Companies are NOT currently required to file beneficial ownership information within FinCEN.
✅ No Penalties for Missed Deadlines – Entities that missed earlier deadlines will not face penalties while the injunctions are in place.
✅ Assess Your Status and Compile Information – Determine if your entity qualifies as a “reporting company,” and if so, continue to gather BOI and stay on top of ownership changes.
✅ Stay Informed – The legal status of the CTA is evolving quickly with the potential for revised requirements or quickly reinstated deadlines.
✅ Voluntary Reporting – You can still submit reports to FinCEN, but it’s not required.

Our CTA team will keep you updated on the latest developments. To read the full Client Alert, visit here.

For more information on our CTA team, visit their bios here:
Lorren Patterson
Paul-Kalvin Collins
Japera Parker