The Illinois False Claims Act (“IFCA”) has been perpetually abused by parasitic litigants seeking to force businesses into unwarranted tax claims. In the latest example, The People ex rel. Stephen B. Diamond v. Henry Poole & Co., Ltd., the Illinois Appellate Court (the “Court”) rejected an action filed by a well-known IFCA litigant against a UK-based tailor, Henry Poole & Co (“Poole”), for failure to collect Illinois use tax on custom clothing sold and shipped…
As part of the New York Budget Legislation (“S.B. 4009 / A.B. 3009”), the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (“Commissioner”) will be given the right to appeal certain types of decisions from the New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal (“Tribunal”). Currently, only taxpayers have the right to appeal Tribunal decisions. This provision is on the cusp of becoming law after clearing both legislative chambers on May 1, 2023. As…
Governor Hochul rang in the new year by vetoing a bill that expanded the New York State False Claims Act (“FCA”) to permit claims against non-filers. Specifically, on December 31, 2021, Governor Hochul vetoed Senate Bill S4730 (Assembly Bill A2543), explaining in Veto Message No. 83 that “the language in the bill is broader than impacting only non-filers, and would implicate more tax filing controversies to the False Claims Act than just non-filers. This would…
In Siemens USA Holdings Inc. v. Geisenberger, No. 20-2991 (3d Cir. 2021), the Third Circuit found that the District Court erred (1) in holding that Siemens’ preemption claim was unripe, and (2) in denying Siemens’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Both the question of ripeness and the injunction request related to whether the escheat priority rules preempted certain audit procedures, as opposed to the validity of an assessment. Specifically, Siemens brought the lawsuit claiming, among…