Kasirer LLC v. United States Small Business Administration Office of Capital…

Background

Kasirer LLC sought judicial review of a Small Business Administration loan-review decision. According to the government’s submission, the agency determined that Kasirer was ineligible for the Paycheck Protection Program loan it received under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and therefore was also ineligible for later forgiveness of that loan because Kasirer engages in lobbying activities.

The government’s submission identified three issues in the underlying case: whether Kasirer’s application was submitted before publication of an interim rule defining ineligible businesses; whether substantially similar businesses had received loan forgiveness; and whether Kasirer’s primary business activity and core focus was lobbying.

Sealing request

The Small Business Administration asked for permission to file the certified administrative record under seal. Kasirer consented to the request. The government said that much of the record consisted of payroll, banking, tax-return, and human-resources records submitted with Kasirer’s loan-forgiveness application. Those records included specific information about Kasirer’s employees, including their pay and benefits.

The government argued that this information was not relevant to the issues in the litigation and that the privacy interests of the employees supported sealing the record. The submission states that the administrative record was filed under seal, except for Kasirer’s Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness calculator, which was sent to the court and Kasirer by email in its original spreadsheet format.

Ruling

Judge Valerie E. Caproni granted the application. This order addressed only the request to file the administrative record under seal. The opinion text does not resolve the underlying dispute over Kasirer’s loan eligibility or eligibility for forgiveness.