On April 19, 2020, Plaintiffs BSJA, Inc. and Alexhd, LLC, filed a class action lawsuit against a national lender in the United States District Court, Central District of California (case number 2:20-cv-03588-ODW-JC). Plaintiffs are represented by the Stalwart Law Group.

Plaintiffs allege that the defendant-lender reshuffled PPP applications and failed to make loans on a “first come, first served basis” in compliance with the CARES Act. Plaintiffs allege that the defendant prioritized larger loans because they would yield greater origination fees. In support of their theory, plaintiffs rely on data obtained from the SBA’s website which they claim shows that “in the last three days of the PPP—banks processed loan applications for $150,000 and under at twice the rate of larger loans.” Plaintiffs claim that because the defendant prioritized larger loans, plaintiffs were unable to received PPP loans before funding was exhausted.

Plaintiffs’ complaint includes claims for unfair, fraudulent, and unlawful business practices in violation of California Business and Professions Code § 17200, false advertising in violation of California Business and Professions Code § 17500, and fraudulent concealment. Plaintiffs seek damages and injunctive and declaratory relief.

To date, there have been no substantive rulings or orders by the court.