Category: Corporate & Business law

Corporate Transparency Act: Part I

February 9, 2023  |  Carole Clark Isakson

Update December 19th, 2024 On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, enjoining the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its reporting deadlines. On December 13, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal in the Fifth Circuit requesting an expedited briefing schedule and a ruling “as soon as possible, but in any event no later than December 27, 2024, to ensure that regulated entities can be made aware of their obligation to comply before January 1, 2025.” Reporting companies should continue monitoring developments in the coming days in case the January 1, 2025 deadline for filing is reinstated. An Introductory Overview Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) in 2020 as part of its initiative to crack down on illicit activities, such as money laundering, commonly associated with shell companies. Under the CTA, many entities formed or registered to do business in the United States will be required to report various information concerning beneficial ownership of/decision-makers for, a given company. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), under the direction of the United States Department of the Treasury, has been tasked…

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BGS Attends Annual DSTA Holiday Party

December 9, 2022  |  Toni Perrier

On Friday, December 2nd, BGS attorneys Carole Clark Isakson and Erik Ordal, with paralegal Rachel Schwankl, enjoyed an evening in Duluth at the Duluth Superior Transportation Association holiday party. Isakson just concluded her second year on the board of directors for the DSTA. BGS is an avid supporter of the DSTA and other transportation related organizations. The firm plays an important role in the transportation industry as it provides legal advice to trucking companies large and small.  Our transportation department has decades of experience in this specialized field and advises its clients on a variety of topics including; contracts, independent contractor rights, regulatory matters, cargo damage claims, mergers and acquisitions, employment matters and more. With more than 30 attorneys BGS is able to provide the services its trucking company clients need.   Contact us with your transportation inquiries to learn more about the role BGS plays as counsel to transportation companies and the services provided. Barna Guzy & Steffen, ltd

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ADA Website Compliance – Is Your Business Up to Date?

June 9, 2022  |  Tyler W. Eubank

By Tyler Eubank and Sara Engemann The Americans with Disabilities act, signed into law in 1990, could not have possibly predicted the magnitude with which the internet would impact the daily lives of Americans. What once could only be accomplished in a brick-and-mortar location, like seeing a doctor or grocery shopping, can now be done completely online and from anywhere in the world. As a website could be considered a “public accommodation” under the ADA, the accessibility of websites is a new frontier in ADA litigation. For the time being, courts disagree about the standards under the ADA, with some circuits requiring stricter standards than others. As a result, the rules may differ from state to state or jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Under certain standards, an accessible website: (1) does not include flashing graphics that could induce seizures, (2) includes text descriptions of all images so that the images can be described by a screen reader, and (3) allows the site to be navigated via keyboard alone, allowing users that cannot grip or operate a mouse to access the site, to name a few. The ADA has already bred “drive-by ADA lawsuits” where a business receives an ADA complaint and then a nearly instant demand for payment of attorney’s fees related to the alleged…

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