May 21, 2024 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington D.C. — The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI) has filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in National Small Business United v. Department of the Treasury in support of the Plaintiff-Appellees and affirmance of the district court. The brief supports a case challenging the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which HLLI argues violates the Fourth Amendment’s bar against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The CTA requires many businesses, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs), to submit personal information about their owners to a government database. This database can be accessed by law enforcement agencies without needing a warrant or any suspicion of a crime. Congress created the CTA to help fight crimes like money laundering and tax evasion. However, HLLI believes this law goes too far and invades the privacy of business owners.
The plaintiffs, National Small Business United, argued that the CTA exceeded Congress’s powers and violated several constitutional amendments, including the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. The federal district court in Alabama agreed, stating that the law overstepped Congress’s powers, especially the Commerce Clause, and blocked its enforcement but did not address the Fourth Amendment arguments.
HLLI supports the district court’s decision and argues that the CTA is an unreasonable search and seizure, similar to the invasive practices opposed by the Founding Fathers. HLLI attorney Ned Hedley stated, “The district court’s thoughtful and well-reasoned opinion is correct and should be affirmed. But we also believe that there is a compelling argument that the CTA violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures and that this is an alternative ground for the Court of Appeals to affirm the district court’s order enjoining enforcement of the CTA.”
The name of the case is National Small Business United v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, 24-10736 (11th Cir.).
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Founded in 2019, Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a nonprofit public interest law firm that challenges improper restrictions on speech, administrative and regulatory actions, and abuses of the class action and civil justice system that exceed constitutional limits, promote rent-seeking, or otherwise improperly created deadweight loss.
As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, HLLI relies on support from individuals and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government. To learn more, visit http://hlli.org.
For more information about this case, contact:
Ned Hedley, Litigation Attorney, (312) 342-6008, ned.hedley@hlli.org