On April 27, 2020, Informatech Consulting Inc., filed a class action lawsuit against a national lender in the United States District Court, Northern District of California (case number 4:20-cv-02892-DMR).  Plaintiff is represented by Greg Coleman Law PC, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., and Whitfield Bryson LLP.

Plaintiff provides consulting services to FDA regulated industries.  Plaintiff alleges that the defendant-lender was required to process SBA PPP loan applications on a “first-come, first-served” basis and failed to do so.  Instead, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant-lender improperly allowed the loan amount to influence when an application was processed and approved because lenders were financially incentivized to approve  larger loans.  Accordingly Defendant allegedly favored larger loans over smaller ones and gave preference more prominent customers.  Plaintiff cites several news articles and a letter from Senator Rubio commenting on the “concierge” treatment provided to the wealthiest clients, resulting in a two-tiered system that fast-tracked applications for more valuable customers, while ordinary mom and pop business were required to use a “buggy online portal.”

Plaintiff claims it was harmed because it was denied a PPP loan.  And because each loan application was registered to a Taxpayer Identification Number, Plaintiff could only apply once.

Plaintiff’s complaint pleads causes of action for violations of the unfair competition law (Business & Professions Code §  17200), False Advertising (Business & Professions Code §17500, et seq.), breach of fiduciary duty; and negligence.