Justia Non-Profit Corporations Opinion Summaries

A sexual assault counselor employed by a nonprofit mental health organization was asked multiple times by her supervisors to disclose the location and information regarding a minor victim, whom law enforcement and county officials were seeking in connection with a probation violation. The counselor refused to provide this information without the victim’s consent, citing the statutory sexual-assault-counselor privilege. Despite her refusal, and after continued pressure, the counselor was ultimately terminated from her position. She then brought claims against her employer under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act and for common-law wrongful discharge, arguing that disclosing the information would have violated the sexual-assault-counselor privilege.The Washington County District Court granted the employer’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, finding that the facts alleged did not support that the requested disclosure would violate the privilege statute. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the sexual-assault-counselor privilege is limited to disclosures made in the context of a court action or proceeding, or before someone authorized to receive evidence, and that the counselor had not alleged such circumstances.The Supreme Court of Minnesota affirmed the decision of the court of appeals. The court held that the sexual-assault-counselor privilege in Minnesota Statutes section 595.02, subdivision 1(k), applies only in an “action or proceeding, civil or criminal, in court or before any person who has authority to receive evidence.” Because the counselor did not allege she was ordered to disclose information in such a context, her claims under the Minnesota Whistleblower Act and for common-law wrongful discharge failed as a matter of law. The court declined to extend the privilege or recognize a broader common-law claim, emphasizing that any broader confidentiality protections would need to come from the legislature. View "Wredberg vs. Canvas Health, Inc." on Justia Law

This case involves Alliance Housing Incorporated and North Penn Supportive Housing LLC, collectively known as Alliance, Minnesota nonprofits operating to create, own, and operate affordable housing for low and very low-income people. Alliance owns several properties in Minneapolis, which are used exclusively as private residences for tenants whose incomes are 30–50 percent of the area median income. Alliance provides some supplies and cleaning services to various units but does not occupy the properties. In late 2018, Alliance applied for tax exemption for all its properties in assessment year 2020. The Minneapolis City Assessor denied the applications. Alliance then filed a property tax petition for the assessment year 2020, payable in 2021, claiming that its properties were tax-exempt. The tax court concluded that the properties owned by Alliance were exempt from property taxes.The State of Minnesota in Supreme Court held that for purposes of qualifying for tax exemption under Article X, Section 1, of the Minnesota Constitution, an institution of purely public charity with a purpose of providing housing for low-income individuals uses its real property in furtherance of its charitable purpose when it leases its property to its intended beneficiaries for personal residence. The court found that when the very purpose of an Institution of Purely Public Charity (IPPC) is to own and operate real property in a charitable manner for private residence, the exclusive residential occupancy of the property by the clients of the IPPC does not defeat the constitutional requirement that property be used to further a charitable purpose. Therefore, the tax court did not err in finding that Alliance’s properties are used for the tax-exempt purpose of providing affordable housing to low-income tenants. The decision of the tax court granting property tax exemptions to Alliance’s properties was affirmed. View "Alliance Housing Incorporated vs. County of Hennepin" on Justia Law