Class Action Complaint Filed Against Bank of America for Misleading Statements About PPP Program

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McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt, APC

Feb 23, 2023, 11:47 ET

McCune Law Group, APC, Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and Kelley Uustal, PLC, File Against BofA on Behalf of Happy Puppy LA, Inc., Brandamize, LLC, and Aurora Environmental Services, Inc.

ONTARIO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt APC (MLG) – a national law firm specializing in Financial Services, Class Actions, and Commercial Litigation alongside co-counsel Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and Kelley Uustal, PLC, has filed a class action complaint against Bank of America on behalf of Happy Puppy LA, Inc., Brandamize, LLC, Aurora Environmental Services, Inc., and other California small businesses similarly affected by Bank of America's alleged misrepresentations about Paycheck Protection Program Loans, which led small business owners across the state to take out what they believed were fully forgivable loans, only to find out later they were unforgiveable, leaving them with thousands of dollars of unforeseen debt.

According to the complaint, Bank of America advertised these livelihood-saving loans as forgivable so long as the funds were used according to stated terms. Although the small businesses complied with those terms, when they later applied for forgiveness, they learned the loans were ineligible for forgiveness because Bank of America had failed to instruct them correctly regarding their application and eligibility for forgiveness. Bank of America is now attempting to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars from these businesses when these debts were incurred only at Bank of America's own fault.

The loans at issue in these cases were made under the CARES Act, which was adopted by the federal government in 2020 to assist pandemic-stricken small businesses stay open during the worst months of the pandemic. The government turned to banks to administer these PPP Loans. If the borrower complied with the SBA's terms, the issuing bank would forgive the borrower's PPP Loan and be paid instead by the SBA. Whether or not the loan was forgiven, the issuing banks received fees for originating the loans in the first place.

The complaint alleges that Bank of America marketed and approved PPP Loans to businesses that used their payrolls to employ so-called "1099 workers,"—independent contractors—even though independent contractors had a separate means of applying for PPP support. Bank of America also instructed applicants to apply for higher loan amounts than the SBA would forgive, telling businesses that the extra funding would be subject to forgiveness as long as the funds were used according to specified terms. Bank of America's marketing and application materials consistently and repeatedly misrepresented PPP Loan forgiveness eligibility for these business owners, who did everything that Bank of America told them to do but are now stuck with loans Bank of America told them would be forgiven.

"Bank of America's alleged misleading statements tricked small business owners who were already suffering from the aftereffects of the pandemic," says MLG Attorney Emily J. Kirk, "Now these businesses are finding out that the loans they took out to save their businesses are unforgiveable and must be repaid even though Bank of America promised them otherwise. This is not right and Bank of America must be held accountable."

About McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt APC: McCune Law Group has a deep history of success for its clients. MLG maintains California offices in Ontario, San Bernardino, Calimesa, Palm Desert, and Irvine and supports its national practice with offices in Arizona, Illinois, and New Jersey. Visit mccunewright.com for more information. 

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SOURCE McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt, APC