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Graham Ryan can be reached at gryan@joneswalker.com or 504.582.8370.

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The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) presents various risks to banks, including litigation from customers, prospective customers, and third parties, as well as enforcement actions from the government and bank regulatory agencies.

An analysis of the several dozen lawsuits filed in the months after the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act reveals that PPP litigation is trending in five preliminary categories: PPP eligibility restrictions, PPP loan prioritization, agent fees, default on debt, and False Claims Act, each detailed below with other litigation risks.

The PPP also presents regulatory risk to banks, including but not limited to nonpayment of guarantee by the US Small Business Administration (SBA), fair lending risk, Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance risk, and PPP compliance risk, each detailed below.Continue Reading Litigation and Regulatory Risks to Banks from Paycheck Protection Program

A party to a contract may under certain circumstances be excused from performing a contractual obligation when the failure to perform is caused by a “fortuitous event”—i.e., force majeure or an “act of God”—that makes performance impossible. Whether COVID-19 and related events, such as the pandemic declaration by the World Health Organization, government travel bans, or government declarations, constitute force majeure that impact contractual performance obligations depends on the language of the contract. Contracts often contain force majeure provisions, which will control in the event of a dispute over performance obligations. If the contract lacks a force majeure provision, or if the provision fails to address a particular event, such as a pandemic, specific default rules may apply depending on the jurisdiction, governing law, and industry.
Continue Reading Contract Disputes from COVID-19: Force Majeure Checklist

Louisiana’s legal community has grown accustom to offering pro bono legal assistance to Louisiana storm victims. After addressing foremost concerns like shelter, food, water, and clothing, disaster victims are left to grapple with more intricate setbacks like insurance claims and FEMA appeals, landlord-tenant disputes, contractor fraud and contract disputes, custody and domestic disagreements, consumer issues, …

A federal disaster declaration has been issued in Louisiana for Orleans and Livingston Parishes following the tornadoes and severe storms that hit South Louisiana on February 7, 2017. The declaration was issued on February 11, 2017, by President Donald Trump upon the request of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

FEMA individual assistance will be available…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) has issued another extension to policyholders under the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) to file a proof of loss with supporting documentation for claims related to the August 2016 flooding.

Under the new extension, announced by FEMA on December 2, 2016, policyholders will now have a total of 180…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied relief to more than 2,500 disaster victims from the August 2016 flooding in Louisiana because of insufficient proof of homeownership. “Thousands of people live in homes that they don’t own outright because properties were passed on to family members without successions,” the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) …

The Louisiana Recovery Task Force has outlined programs that may help Louisiana companies get back to business following the historic August 2016 flooding.

More than 14,000 businesses were affected by the flooding. The concepts outlined by the Louisiana Task Force include providing banks with certain guarantees to incentive lending; compiling data on consumers and client…