| Volume 143 Number 43 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
If there’s a high demand online for health and safety items, like facemasks and paper products, guess what scammers pretend to sell? That’s right: health and safety items, like facemasks and paper products. Click here for more.
Whole Foods Market will give all customers a free mask
If you need another face mask, you might try shopping at your local Whole Foods Market store. Parent company Amazon says all stores will provide free masks to customers and ask them to wear them while shopping.
Amazon said it acquired over 100 million masks that were distributed through its global Amazon operations and Whole Foods Market stores. The masks are expected to begin arriving at stores over the next seven days. Click here for more.
Your Money
Retirees are usually required to take withdrawals from their retirement accounts each year after age 72. However, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act allows you to skip your 2020 required minimum distribution from a 401(k), IRA, 403(b), 457(b) and inherited IRA. Here is what you need to know about delaying required withdrawals from a retirement account until 2021. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Paycheck Protection Program class action litigation against banks. With the passage of the CARES Act and the subsequent rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing a new species of class action litigation to some of the country’s banks. Though the initial $349 billion designated for PPP loans was gone in just over two weeks, an additional $320 billion was designated for the program on April 24, 2020. Banks began processing the second round of applications on April 27, 2020. With demand for these PPP funds at an apex, small businesses unable to secure a PPP loan in this round or the first one, may pursue the litigation approach to capital infusion. In fact, some of these small businesses are now alleging misconduct on the part of lenders who processed PPP loan applications and received loan origination fees for their work. For example, in a case against JPMorgan Chase, plaintiffs assert the bank prioritized processing applications from select clients and for higher-value loans, rather than processing the PPP loan applications on a first-come, first-served basis. The plaintiff alleges that, because origination fees are calculated as a percentage of loan principal, such alleged re-ordering purportedly enabled JPM to maximize its own revenues at the expense of the small businesses in direst need of funds. They also assert, based on purported advertisements and other communications stating loans would be processed on a first-come, first-served basis, violation of various consumer statutes. Click here for more.