Indemnification clauses are essential elements of business contracts that allow the parties to allocate responsibility for specific losses or claims. For Indiana businesses, understanding how indemnity works under Indiana law is vital for managing risks and reducing liability exposure.
This article explores key indemnification terms and practical tips for analyzing clauses. By understanding these provisions, business owners can understand their rights, duties, and risks.
Let’s start with some definitions and then examine how the defined terms fit into an example clause.
Buying a small 
business in Indiana is an exciting venture that can set you on the path to success. One critical decision stands between you and your dream: Should you buy the company itself or just its assets? Let’s explore these two approaches to help you navigate this important choice. For simplicity, let’s assume the business is organized as an Indiana limited liability company (LLC).
Stock Purchase vs. Asset Purchase: The Basics
If you decide to buy the company itself, you’ll be purchasing the interest in the LLC—often referred to as a “stock sale.” While LLCs don’t technically have stock, the term persists as a carryover from the days when corporations, which do have stock, dominated the business landscape. Another name that is becoming more common is “equity sale,” which covers stock in a corporation, interest in an LLC, and any other form of equity.
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II
Shakespeare may have been right about flowers, but about companies…not so much. Choosing the right name for your limited liability company (LLC) can be an important factor in its success. The name you select will not only represent your brand but will also serve as a legal identifier for your LLC. This article outlines key considerations for picking an LLC name, whether you’re forming a business entity or setting up a personal LLC, such as for estate planning. While this discussion focuses on Indiana LLCs, similar rules apply to LLCs across most states.
We have written previously about the effects that ongoing litigation in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland, has had on the reporting requirements established by the Corporate Transparency Act. For more information on the CTA and Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements check out this post. For other blogs related to Texas Top Cop look here.
As the situation changes, and rather than continue to post blog after blog on the current status of the BOI reporting requirements, all updates will live on this post for now. As we endeavor to provide updates as soon as possible in one central location, please be aware that there may be delays. If you would like our office to file the BOI on behalf of your business, please contact our office.
Current status of CTA Reporting Requirements: MANDATORY (Updated: 02/21/2025)
As we discussed in our prior update, a federal court in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction against the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) reporting requirement, the Beneficial Ownership Information Report (BOIR). (You may recall that the CTA requires companies created before 2024 to file BOIRs before January 1, 2025; new companies formed in 2024 to file within 90 days of their creation; and new companies formed after 2024 to file within 30 days of their creation.)
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a statement that all reports during the preliminary injunction are considered “voluntary” and there will be no penalty for reporting companies who fail to file during that period. In their statement, FinCEN maintains that they believe the CTA is constitutional and vital in protecting the United States and its citizens from financial and other crimes.
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requires most small business corporations and limited liability companies to file Beneficial Ownership Information Reports (BOI reports or BOIRs) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a part of the United States Department of Treasury. The purpose of the reports is to give law enforcement information regarding the people who own or control companies that may not otherwise be available to them, primarily for the purpose of investigating money laundering and other financial crimes. For companies that were formed before January 1, 2024, BOIRs are due by January 1, 2025.
At least they were before this week. On December 3, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Garland (civil action number 4:24-CV-478) ruled that the CTA is likely unconstitutional and issued a nationwide preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the BOIR requirement. In doing so, the court wrote, “[R]eporting companies need not comply with the CTA’s January 1, 2025, BOI reporting deadline pending further order of the Court.”
For several reasons, this is not the last word on the CTA. First, the Government has already appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which could set aside the preliminary injunction.
An anonymous LLC (limited liability company) is a type of business structure in which the public has no access to the owners’ identities. This means that the names of the members (owners) and managers (if any) of the LLC are not listed on records that are available to the public.
Even though the members and managers are anonymous to the public, they are not anonymous to certain government agencies or to law enforcement. For example, the LLC’s tax returns filed with the IRS and other tax authorities list the names of its members. In addition, a new report that became mandatory this year for most LLCs, called a Business Ownership Information Report, discloses the names of most members and managers to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN. [Update 4/5/2025: After several confusing court decisions and reversals, the last word from FinCEN is that domestic LLCs and other entities will not be required to file Business Ownership Information Reports. Only foreign entitles will be required to file.]
You may have heard of a new reporting requirement that took effect on January 1, 2024, under the federal Corporate Transparency Act (or CTA). The report is called a Business Ownership Information Report (or BOIR). Most limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, and other types of business entities are now required file a report with the Financial Crimes Information Center (or FinCEN) disclosing the names of the people who, directly or indirectly, own or control the business entity. A wealth of information regarding the CTA and BOIRs is available at the BOIR home page at https://www.FinCEN.gov/boi; the Small Entity Compliance Guide at https://www.FinCEN.gov/boi/small-entity-compliance-guide; and the list of frequently asked questions at https://www.FinCEN.gov/boi-faqs#A_1. Some basic information is provided below.
What is the purpose of the CTA?
The purpose of the Corporate Transparency Act, passed by Congress in 2021 on a bipartisan basis, is to make it harder for bad actors to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures. The BOIR provides law enforcement with information that may not otherwise be readily available to them.
On March 13, 2024, the Indiana Governor signed Senate Enrolled Act 18, which, among other things, amends the Indiana Business Flexibility Act with the goal of addressing problems that can arise from the death of the sole member of a limited liability company. The following article is based on our analysis and understanding of SEA 18, particularly Sections 2 and 3.
Basic LLC Principles: Interest versus Membership
Understanding SEA 18 requires an understanding of the difference between LLC interest and membership.
Indiana Business Law Blog