The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision on July 9, 2020 held that the State of Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction to prosecute an enrolled member of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma because the crimes he was accused of committing occurred within the Muscogee (Creek) Reservation.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court finds Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s Reservation Remains Intact For Purposes of Criminal Jurisdiction
Below please find a link to a newly-updated version of the Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP (Sheppard Mullin) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Estimator Workbook (the Workbook), which was created by and is the property of Sheppard Mullin.
Continue Reading Paycheck Protection Program: Updated Loan Forgiveness Estimator Workbook
On July 4, 2020, President Trump signed into law a bill passed by the U.S. Congress that extends the application deadline for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)[1] from June 30, 2020 to August 8, 2020. The extension of the PPP application deadline comes on the heels of the latest PPP report issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that, as of June 30, 2020, approximately $131 billion of the allocated $670 billion remains unspent. In their report the SBA and Treasury added that, as of June 30, 2020, the average PPP loan size was $107,000, and that the PPP has supported approximately 51 million jobs, or roughly 84% of all employees working at small businesses.
Continue Reading PPP Updates: Extension of the Application Deadline, Disclosure of PPP Borrowers Receiving Greater than $150,000 in PPP Loans, and the “Owner-Employee” Dilemma
The $600 billion Main Street Loan program has been highly anticipated to provide financial support in the form of loans to small and medium-sized U.S. businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston that is administering the Main Street Loan program has released term sheets and various other program documents for the three types of loans, “New,” “Priority” and “Expanded,” as well as over 70 pages of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). As a result, the contours of the Main Street Loan program are now substantially settled[1] as the Fed announced publicly on Monday, July 6, that the Main Street Lending Program is now fully operational and ready to purchase participations in eligible loans that are submitted to the program by registered lenders (Eligible Lenders).
Continue Reading Interplay of Main Street Lending Program Documents (the Rights and Role of the Main Street SPV)
On June 9 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a Factsheet on how to disclose title insurance on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, including when a negative owner’s title insurance cost disclosure is appropriate, and updated the TRID FAQs to include guidance on the total of payments disclosure, using the optional signature line on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, and the requirement to include seller information on the consumer’s disclosures if providing separate Closing Disclosures. This blog discusses the Factsheet, and sets forth the four questions added to the FAQ, along with brief answers.
Continue Reading CFPB Issues Factsheet On TRID Title Insurance Disclosures And Updates TRID FAQ
On June 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published an updated Loan Forgiveness Application for borrowers to complete in order to apply for loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)[1] to conform with the changes to the PPP pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA). The Loan Forgiveness Application is composed of a loan forgiveness calculation form, a related Schedule A worksheet, a representations and certifications form, and an optional PPP borrower demographic information form. The application is further supplemented by a Loan Forgiveness Application Instructions for Borrowers sheet
Continue Reading Updates to the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form
[Update: This is an updated version of an article published on June 5, 2020]
On June 5, 2020, the U.S. President signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPP Flexibility Act or Act) to provide businesses with greater flexibility and more time to maximize forgiveness of loans received under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), as enacted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, including, without limitation, by the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, applicable federal regulations and interpretive guidance issued by the SBA and Treasury, the CARES Act). The PPP Flexibility Act has been further supplemented by the (i) Joint Statement, issued on June 8, 2020 by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza (the Joint Statement) and (ii) Seventeenth Interim Final Rule[1], issued by the SBA on June 11, 2020.
Continue Reading [UPDATED] Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act: Major Changes to the PPP
On June 8, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the administrator of the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program, released updated term sheets for the three types of loans, “New,” “Priority” and “Expanded,” that will be available under Main Street as well as an updated extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/mainstreetlending.htm). The Main Street Lending Program is a $600 billion loan program to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses established, with the approval of the Treasury Secretary, by the Federal Reserve using its emergency authority under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act, with $75 billion in equity provided by the Treasury Department under the $454 billion appropriation of Section 4003(b)(4) of Title IV of the Cares Act.
Continue Reading Fed Provides Further Updates to Main Street Lending Program, Expanding Availability in Advance of Program Launch
The Ninth Circuit on June 1 affirmed a key bankruptcy principle that liens may survive and “pass through” the bankruptcy process even if the underlying claim secured by the lien is disallowed. The facts in Lane v. The Bank of New York Mellon (Ninth Cir. Ct. Of Appeals, No. 18-60059, June 1, 2020) are all too familiar – a mortgage loan originated by Countrywide Home Loans wound up in a huge pool of securities with The Bank of New York Mellon serving as trustee for the certificate holders. Countrywide had endorsed the promissory note in blank, which made it payable to the bearer.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Affirms that Liens Pass Through Bankruptcy Even if Underlying Claim is Disallowed
On June 4 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued proposals to address issues arising from the required transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scheduled for the end of 2021. LIBOR has been widely used as a benchmark in consumer financial products such as adjustable rate mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), student loans and credit cards. The CFPB released a more than 200 page rulemaking proposal calling for changes to its truth-in-lending regulations relating to the LIBOR transition. The CFPB also simultaneously issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) This blog will emphasize the proposal’s and the FAQ’s impact on adjustable rate mortgage loans and HELOCs.
Continue Reading CFPB Issues Proposed Amendment to Regulation Z and Guidance to Deal with LIBOR Transition