The ongoing public health emergency created by COVID-19 is having a significant impact on our clients and their customers. The challenges created by the pandemic are growing in number and evolving day by day. Severson & Werson is helping clients identify, understand, and manage COVID-19-related legal risks and trends. Across different practice areas—banking, business litigation, construction, creditor’s rights and bankruptcy, labor and employment, financial services, insurance, professional liability defense, and real estate—the Firm’s attorneys rely on their deep knowledge of clients’ businesses and industries to help track and make sense of the significant and often urgent legal issues that arise from this crisis. Severson & Werson is here to help. Please check back frequently as we update this page with new articles, bulletins, and other resources and content.
Severson & Werson has prepared the following bulletins and summaries to assist clients in responding to various legal issues arising from the pandemic:
Construction Law In this (or any other) time of social and/or business disruption, delays, or shutdowns, focus frequently goes to the scheduling clauses contained in design and construction professional service agreements. One common phrase frequently used in such agreements is “time is of the essence.” In ordinary times, the phrase garners little attention. In times of disruption, delay, and shutdown,… Read More
In addition to the case summaries identified below, multiple government agencies are continuing to release new information and guidance about the CARES Act which may be particularly helpful to those working in the financial services industry. The latest information regarding the CARES Act can be found directly from the following government agencies.
On May 1, 2020, plaintiff Hyde-Edwards Salon & Spa moved to create a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California combining almost a dozen class actions over defendant JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.'s handling of loans available through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) under the CARES Act. Another motion by plaintiff Cyber Defense Group seeks to transfer the cases… Read More
On May 8, 2020, Seto Marselian, d/b/a Bistro Pazzo filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of California against its lender. (case number 3:20-cv-03166.) Plaintiff is represented by Bottini & Bottini, Inc. Plaintiff is a restaurant owner who submitted a PPP loan application to its lender, and alleges that the lender wrongful denied… Read More
On April 3, 2020 Profiles, Inc. and other small businesses filed a putative class action against their lender for alleged discrimination arising from the denial of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (case no. 20-00894.) Plaintiffs are represented by Rifkin Weiner Livingston Levitan and Silver LLC. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that their lender wrongly prioritized the applications of its existing customers… Read More
On March 16, 2020, plaintiffs James and Lisa Shuff sued their lender in the Southern District of West Virginia (case no. 20-cv-00184.) Plaintiffs are represented by Mountain State Justice, Inc. The complaint is a purported class action which seeks “to temporarily stop foreclosures in West Virginia during the national emergency caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus.” Plaintiffs allege… Read More
On April 20, 2020, Legendary Transport, LLC brought a class action against several national lenders. The complaint was filed in the United States District Court Central District of California (case number 2:20-cv-03636-ODW-JC). Plaintiff is a small business that applied for a PPP loan with one of the Defendant-lenders. Plaintiff claims that all of the Defendants prioritized loan applications of “favored… Read More
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