Attorney General Seeks Emergency Stay of Injunction in Corporate Transparency Act Case

Late Friday night, the Attorney General filed an Emergency Motion to Stay the preliminary injunction enjoining the Corporate Transparency Act in the Texas Top Cop Shop case.

In response, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the Appellees (plaintiffs below) to file a response by Tuesday, December 17^th, with the appellant ordered to file a reply no later than noon on December 19th.

Key takeaways:

1. The AG's Emergency Motion cites several cases for the proposition that the Supreme Court will stay or modify a district court's injunction that goes beyond what is necessary to "provide relief [to] the parties to the case." Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. 667, 717 (2018) (Thomas, J., concurring), and Labrador v. Poe, 114 S.Ct. 921, 927 (2024) (Gorsuch, J., concurring in the grant of stay).

2. The AG's Emergency Motion notes the inconsistency that could result from a nationwide injunction, since some NFIB members may also have been members of other organizations who have sought similar relief but have been denied in other federal courts. (Citing Firestone v. Yellen and Community Ass'ns Inst. v. Yellen).

3. Although the AG's Emergency Motion asked for a briefing schedule in which its reply brief would have been due December 23, the Fifth Circuit ordered an even faster briefing cycle, with the Appellee's response due on December 17 and the AG's reply due on December 19. This accelerated briefing suggests that the Fifth Circuit will be issuing an order no later than the December 27th deadline requested by the AG.



Stay tuned and tell your clients to prepare as if the January 1 deadline might be reinstated.