Court stays PPP and EIDL borrower disclosure

Courts Covid-19 FOIA SBA

On November 13, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily stayed the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) mandatory release of the names, addresses, and precise loan amounts of all Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) borrowers until the court rules on the motion to stay filed by the SBA. As previously covered by InfoBytes, the court ordered the SBA to supplement their July disclosure and release the “names, addresses, and precise loan amounts of all individuals and entities that obtained PPP and EIDL COVID-related loans by November 19, 2020,” concluding that the SBA’s claimed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemptions do not cover the requested information disclosures. The SBA moved to stay the order to “preserve [the] SBA’s right to appeal and to avoid irreparable harm to [the] SBA and to privacy and business confidentiality interests of the millions of individuals and businesses….” The SBA requested the order be stayed until December 7 or pending appeal, if filed by that date. In response, the court issued a minute order, granting a temporary stay until it rules on the motion.