restaurant revitalization fund lawsuit

5.19.2021 3:46 PM. The temporary injunction issued by District Judge Reed OConnor allows the Small Business Administration to continue disbursing funds to non-priority applicants, according to Reuters, but its unclear when the more than 2,900 businesses whose applications were impacted by the injunction will be able to receive their funds. The SBA argued that the government has a compelling interest in redressing the effects of past and present discrimination against minority-owned small businesses and that the prioritization scheme furthers that interest. On Thursday, a federal appeals court issued an injunction against prioritizing COVID relief to restaurants based on their owners race and sex, finding that was unconstitutionally discriminatory. The recognizing date of the exempt status is September, 2022. In the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Judge Reed OConnor, found that the defendants lack[ed] the industry-specific inquiry needed to support a compelling interest for a government-imposed racial classification. OConnor concluded that the evidence shows Greer will suffer irreparable harm because the RRF will likely run out of money before his restaurant could even be considered for relief. Restaurants in Texas and Tennessee filed lawsuits against the SBA, arguing thatprioritizing the Restaurant Revitalization Fundtogroups based on race and gender is unconstitutional. Something went wrong. The restaurant was named for Tom Pisha-Duffly's grandmother his oma who passed away from COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. / CBS News. This is not the first lawsuit filed against a federal program aimed at helping disadvantaged groups hurt by the pandemic. May 13, 2021 / 10:55 AM As of May 12, the Small Business Administration said those businesses had already applied for $29 billion, more than the fund's total amount. The broad statistical disparities cited by the government are not nearly enough., The dissenting opinion of the Sixth Circuit panel argued that the Biden Administration offered substantial evidence proving that minority-owned businesses were more vulnerable to economic distress than businesses owned by white entrepreneurs.. The owners of the Lost Cajun in Keller say that the governments plan to prioritize Restaurant Revitalization Fund applications from businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans is discriminatory. A legal group founded by ex-Trump aide Stephen Miller on Thursday filed another lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of racial discrimination in the distribution of COVID-19 relief funds, this time for money designated for restaurant owners. Jakes Bar and Grill owner Antonio Vitolo won the appeal of his lawsuit against the SBA on May 28 after a Sixth Circuit court panel ruled that the 21-day prioritization program is unconstitutional. | The matter came to light days after a group of senators and congressmen from both parties had introduced a bipartisan proposal to re-up the RRF with $60 billion. Please enter a valid email and try again. To date, more than 100,000 restaurants have received $27.4 billion in relief funds. Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Sue Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: 313-222-6872 or sselasky@freepress.com. Do not sell my personal infoPrivacy PolicyContact UsRSS, SBA stops Restaurant Revitalization Fund payments after courts rule they're discriminatory. Wendy's wants to open more restaurants, just not in ghost kitchens. "The simplest solution to all of it, all of the problems with the lawsuits and everything else goes away if you refill the fund," Polmar said in an interview. U.S. District Judge Travis McDonough in Knoxville, Tennessee, issued the opinion denying a temporary restraining order last week in thelawsuitbrought by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. These business owners had their Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant applications approved as part of a program that prioritized traditionally underserved owners women, veterans, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups. Sign up here. The lawsuits, representing the interests of a handful of restaurants owned and operated by white men, alleged discrimination because the application process prioritized applications based on race and sex. Taken together, that testimony was enough for the district court to conclude that Congress had a strong basis in evidence for its conclusion that remedial action was necessary to address specific past discrimination, particularly as it related to the pandemic, the minority opinion stated. Number 8860726. Related: SBA data confirms that the current Restaurant Revitalization Fund cant meet demand. She and her business partner will soon meet with their landlord, who she says has been surprisingly "very cool" about not receiving rent for over a year, to figure out the future. On March 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act, granting Puerto Rico status a United State territory and granting all of its residents U.S. citizenship. Greer filed suit, claiming that the SBAs policy violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. On Friday, June 11, the Small Business Administration paused the disbursement of pandemic relief funds to thousands of minority-owned businesses. According to a court filing, the last priority applications were processed on May 27 and the rest of the money in the fund was re-allocated to non-priority applicants. The programs administrator, the U.S. Small Business Administration, hadnt hidden that preference, just as it had acknowledged setting aside $5 billion of the funds $28.6 billion for very small restaurant companies. There may be hope for those who missed a chance at funding. newsletter, the Small Business Administration paused the disbursement of pandemic relief funds to thousands of minority-owned businesses, founded by Stephen Miller and Mark Meadows, both aides to former president Donald Trump, just requires that the Small Business Administration prioritize applications from women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses for the first 21 days that applications are open, also alleged that the program was discriminating against white people by prioritizing minority-owned businesses, appellate court later overturned McDonoughs decision, Biden administration has vowed that it will continue to fight the Texas judges injunction in court, U.S. SBA halts some grants under injunction in lawsuit filed by white restaurant owners, Everything Restaurants Need to Know About the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. "We keep it going.". Federal judges in Texas and Tennessee agreed, and the SBA halted all payments to priority applicants. Neither of the owners qualifies for prioritization as a socially disadvantaged individual, which means that their application wouldnt be processed until after that 21-day period in which the Administration has been directed to process applications from those groups. The group is appealing the decision. Thus, the lawsuit alleges, its possible that the entire $28.6 billion that Congress allocated to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund will be depleted before Nyman Defendants propose as the government's compelling interest "remedying the effects of past and present discrimination" by "supporting small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners who have borne an outsized burden of economic harms of [the] COVID-19 pandemic." The judge granted the restraining order, directed Greer to file his application with the RRF before May 19, and enjoined the SBA to process and consider his application. Please enter valid email address to continue. Heres What You Need to Know, Restaurant Group Joins Class-Action Suit Claiming Banks Mishandled PPP Applications, What the $900 Billion Stimulus Means for Restaurants: The Good, the Bad, and the Disappointing, With Restaurants in Crisis, the James Beard Foundation Has a New Mission, The American Restaurant Industry Is On Life Support, This Is the Only Way to Save the Restaurants You Love, Restaurant Relief Has Been Dropped from the Omnibus Spending Bill, As Coronavirus Shutters Restaurants Across the Country, a Swell of Support for Workers Rises Up, tool to quickly contact elected representatives. Nearly 3,000 restaurateurs approved to receive a Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grants have been alerted that they wont be getting the money because of court cases that challenge a d their selection on the basis of gender or race. The funds, she said, will help her reinvest. The decision overturned a Tennessee federal judge's original ruling that declined a temporary restraining request from Antonio Vitolo, the owner of Jake's Bar and Grill LLC in Harriman, Tenn. Affected business owners aren't sure what comes next. Thursdays lawsuit from America First Legal (AFL) specifically takes issue with the Small Business Administrations (SBA) handling of the $28.6 billion in the Restaurant Revitalization Fund within President Bidens American Rescue Plan package passed by Congress. /sites/all/themes/penton_subtheme_nrn/images/logos/footer.png. The lawsuit targets the three-week period from May 3 until Monday during which the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund has only been processing and funding requests from businesses owned by women; veterans; or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. There was no word from the Justice Department on whether they would appeal the ruling. The restaurant started as a pop-up during the pandemic and later turned into a brick-and-mortar space, closing for four months of renovations and reopening in May. Greer seeks monetary relief under the $28.6-billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund ("RRF") created by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA") and administered by the Small Business Administration ("SBA"). A federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary ruling Tuesday which found that the Biden administrations nearly $29 billion restaurant relief fund discriminated against a Nearly 3,000 approved applicants, all women and people in groups deemed most in need, were told they wouldn't get their funds following legal challenges to the selection process. The Sixth Circuit court panel has ruled the prioritization of Restaurant Revitalization Fund loans on the basis of sex and race unconstitutional, 2023 Informa USA, Inc., All rights reserved, Denny's raises over $1.2 million to fight childhood hunger in 12th annual No Kid Hungry fundraiser, Bojangles names Tom Boland as new chief marketing officer, Baskin-Robbins rolls out chicken-and-waffle flavored ice cream, How Jersey Mike's is becoming 'America's sandwich shop', Nations Restaurant News launches new CREATE Roadshow event series, San Diegos Trust Restaurant Group drives retention, innovation with culture of yes, Tech Tracker: Restaurant QR codes are evolving and so should yours, SBA data confirms that the current Restaurant Revitalization Fund cant meet demand, The Restaurant Revitalization Fund application portal is closing on May 24, Allowed HTML tags:

. The SBA previously dropped prioritization of women and minority-owned businesses and rescinded payments promised to almost 3,000 restaurants following these three lawsuits, 2023 Informa USA, Inc., All rights reserved, The Penn Hotel Sports and Raw Bar / Facebook, Denny's raises over $1.2 million to fight childhood hunger in 12th annual No Kid Hungry fundraiser, Bojangles names Tom Boland as new chief marketing officer, Baskin-Robbins rolls out chicken-and-waffle flavored ice cream, How Jersey Mike's is becoming 'America's sandwich shop', Nations Restaurant News launches new CREATE Roadshow event series, San Diegos Trust Restaurant Group drives retention, innovation with culture of yes, Tech Tracker: Restaurant QR codes are evolving and so should yours, Congress introduces a $60 billion replenishment of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, SBA data confirms that the current Restaurant Revitalization Fund cant meet demand, Allowed HTML tags:

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