In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg of Washington, D.C. held that the names and addresses of Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") borrowers and the amounts of PPP loans were not confidential, and ordered the United States Small Business Administration ("SBA") to disclose this information to a coalition of news organizations under the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). The Court recognized that the SBA had warned borrowers that the information would be made public under FOIA and emphasized the huge public interest in access to information about how taxpayer money is spent. It elaborated that transparency "enables meaningful evaluation of whether the PPP and EIDL program are being operated consistent with applicable legal constraints; whether funds have been distributed fairly, equitably, and devoid of fraud; and whether the programs are achieving their purpose."

The Court's order in Washington, D.C. is consistent with arguments that the American Small Business League ("ASBL") has advanced in its own FOIA challenge to the aberrant cloak of secrecy that the SBA has attempted to cast over the PPP, which ASBL is litigating in San Francisco. ASBL is a small business advocacy organization based in California that has long pressed the federal government to administer its small business programs more transparently, using FOIA litigation and otherwise, and that fights to ensure that the federal government protects small businesses.

Lloyd Chapman, ASBL's president, hailed the D.C. Court's ruling, saying, "Like too many federal government programs, ASBL is concerned that the PPP didn't do enough to protect small businesses. I suspect that the information would not be released until after the election. These lawsuits have gone on for months. I don't think it's any coincidence that the Trump Administration decided to release the data as soon as it was over."

Karl Olson, ASBL's attorney in its California case, agreed. "The public's interest in knowing how hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent is overwhelming. We are pleased that Judge Boasberg recognized this and shined some much-needed sunlight on this important information."

FOR INFORMATION CALL LLOYD CHAPMAN (707-789-9575) OR KARL OLSON (415-602-0841)

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Federal district court judge Maxine M. Chesney has dismissed the American Small Business League's summary judgement motion for the release of the names of all firms that received PPP loans. The ASBL has requested the information under the Freedom of Information Act. Judge Chesney vacated the ASBL's summary judgement motion, which means that it's highly unlikely that the names of firms that received PPP loans of $150,000 or less will be released before the election.

ASBL President Lloyd Chapman stated, "I'm very disappointed at Judge Chesney's ruling. There's no exemption in the Freedom of Information Act that would be applicable to this data and I think it should have been released for that reason. I suspect there's something in this data that the Trump administration is very concerned about. That's why they refused to release it. The Administration's excuse of privacy doesn't hold water because when the applicants filled out the forms, it stated that the information would be public."

The information that has been released so far in the PPP program showed that a significant number of publicly traded companies, billionaires, and large businesses received PPP loans. ASBL estimates that legitimate small businesses, with under a hundred employees, may have received as little as three percent of the total four trillion dollars that the government has allocated for economic stimulus.

"Census Bureau data indicates 89% of all US firms have twenty employees or less. They're responsible for 97% of all net new jobs," Chapman continued, "and that's who should have received the vast majority of this money. That didn't happen and I think that's going to result in a significant negative downturn in the middle class economy."

The Washington Post, New York Times, Dow Jones, Bloomberg LP, ProPublica and the Center for Public Integrity have also filed suit for the PPP data. That case will be heard in Washington, D.C.

ASBL anticipates that after the election the information will be released.

www.asbl.com

www.lloydchapman.com

Contacts
Karl Olson, Esq.
(415) 409-8900

Lloyd Chapman
(707) 789-9575

SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Small Business Administration is being sued by the American Small Business League (ASBL) in Federal District Court in San Francisco. The case was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) after the SBA refused to release the names of all recipients of government PPP funds and the specific amounts each firm received.

The ASBL believes the data will show a disproportionate volume of the PPP funds went to predominately large businesses. The ASBL points to U.S. Census Bureau data that indicate 98% of all firms in the United States have less than 100 employees and are responsible for over 97% of the net new jobs.

ASBL President Lloyd Chapman stated, "The 98 percent of all U.S. firms that have less than 100 employees should have received the vast majority of these PPP funds. When we win this case and force the Trump Administration to release all the data, I'm confident we will see minority owned firms were largely ignored and that most of the PPP money actually went to some very large companies. The federal government has a long history of diverting small business funds to clearly large businesses and even Fortune 500 firms and their subsidiaries. I think one of the reason's the Trump Administration is refusing to release the names of all firms that received PPP funds will show a disproportionate number of the firms that received the largest amounts of PPP funds were supporters of President Trump's. I expect millions in those funds will find their way back to President Trump's campaign."

ASBL President Lloyd Chapman has won over 100 Freedom of Information Act legal battles against the federal government. The ASBL recently won one of the largest Freedom of Information Act cases in history against the Pentagon. The Pentagon was forced to issue a check to the ASBL for $500,000 to reimburse their legal fees in that case.

Federal District Court Judge William Alsup has described the ASBL as an "underdog", in a "David and Goliath battle against big government and big business".

The San Francisco law firm of CANNATA, O'TOOLE, FICKES & OLSON LLP will be representing the ASBL in the case.

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. District Judge William Alsup Friday handed another victory to a small business advocacy group, the American Small Business League ("ASBL"), holding that the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice didn't comply with his previous orders requiring them to disclose their ratings of major defense contractors and the Justice Department's communications with defense contractors' lawyers.

Judge Alsup's ruling is the latest in a long-running, David-versus-Goliath struggle between ASBL and the two federal agencies. The government has already had to pay ASBL $500,000 in attorney's fees in the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") case.

The latest, June 5 ruling held that even after an earlier ruling last November, the government was withholding too much information from its "compliance reviews" of defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky. The Pentagon is required to monitor defense contractors' compliance with subcontracting goals as part of a mandated government-wide effort to provide at least 23 percent of the total value of all prime contracts to small and minority-owned businesses. In the past, the government has disclosed to the public positive reviews of the defense contractors but tried to hide negative reviews, claiming they are confidential.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--U.S. District Judge William Alsup Friday handed another victory to a small business advocacy group, the American Small Business League ("ASBL"), holding that the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice didn't comply with his previous orders requiring them to disclose their ratings of major defense contractors and the Justice Department's communications with defense contractors' lawyers.

Judge Alsup's ruling is the latest in a long-running, David-versus-Goliath struggle between ASBL and the two federal agencies. The government has already had to pay ASBL $500,000 in attorney's fees in the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") case.

The latest, June 5 ruling held that even after an earlier ruling last November, the government was withholding too much information from its "compliance reviews" of defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky. The Pentagon is required to monitor defense contractors' compliance with subcontracting goals as part of a mandated government-wide effort to provide at least 23 percent of the total value of all prime contracts to small and minority-owned businesses. In the past, the government has disclosed to the public positive reviews of the defense contractors but tried to hide negative reviews, claiming they are confidential.

Click Here To Read The Full Article