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NEWS BRIEFS

By ALM Staff | Law Journal Newsletters |
September 16, 2003

LIBERTY TAX SERVICE NIPS AT H&R BLOCK'S HEELS

Liberty Tax Service, a Virginia Beach, VA, franchisor of tax-preparation services, continues to challenge the advertising practices of H&R Block, the largest provider of tax services in the U.S. Liberty has about 900 franchisees, making it the nation's third-largest franchisor of tax-preparation businesses, while H&R Block has more than 9000 offices (of which about half are franchises).

On Feb. 12, 2003, Liberty went to Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Jackson a second time to ask that H&R Block be held in contempt of court for violating the judge's injunction against H&R Block's advertising program. That injunction dates to May 2000, when Liberty won a false advertising case against H&R Block in which it alleged that H&R Block misrepresented refund anticipation loans as a 'refund,' 'refund amount,' and 'check in the amount of your refund.' Both the federal judge who heard that case and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that H&R Block had made those misrepresentations willfully, maliciously, and in violation of IRS regulations.

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