At the end of December, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133), which President Trump signed into law December 27, 2020. The $2.3 trillion spending bill included regular appropriations for a variety of federal agencies and a number of other pieces of legislation. At over 5,593 pages, it was the longest bill ever passed by Congress.
COVID-19 has sparked significant litigation across the country and presents new challenges for courts to decide. While lawmakers are attempting to limit COVID-19-related litigation by passing liability shield laws and introducing penalties for making a practice out of COVID-19 litigation for attorneys, more and more COVID-19-related lawsuits are being filed. One tool available to courts to reduce this caseload is consolidation under 28 U.S.C. § 1407, which authorizes the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) to centralize cases with one or more common questions of fact. Multidistrict litigation was created to help courts navigate the work-related asbestos cases of the 1990s. The federal MDL panel has received petitions to consider MDL for lawsuits related to COVID-19 business interruption insurance and against banks regarding their handling of COVID-19 SBA loans and repayment of agents.
Fraud Prosecutions for Paycheck Protection Program
August 14th, 2020 — by Betsy Lee Montague — Category: COVID-19PPP
Federal prosecutors have already filed charges against at least 33 small businesses or individual owners for alleged Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud, such as fabricating applications, falsifying tax or business records, and misusing loan money.
Does A Better Loan Program Already Exist For Small Businesses?
July 21st, 2020 — by Ashley Pruitt — Category: COVID-19PPP
According to the Small Business Administration, there were nearly 30 million small businesses supporting more than 56 million jobs in the United States before the current public health crises. But since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the US, it is estimated that more than 100,000 small businesses have permanently closed. The government created grants and loans in the CARES Act specifically targeted for the small-business community, yet those programs suffered a rocky start and are subject to significant usage restrictions. For small businesses that need access to money that can be used more generally, fear the forgiveness stipulations, or are not comfortable with the short repayment timeline, the SBA has retained its 7(a) Loan Programs. 7(a) loans may be exactly what some small-business owners need to weather the COVID disruptions.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Flexibility Act of 2020
June 18th, 2020 — by Thomas Finley — Category: COVID-19PPP
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was passed as a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in response to the needs of businesses experiencing loss of revenues due to government forced shutdowns.
