View Recent Blog Posts in Business and Corporate

  • By: G. Blane Clark On March 27, 2020, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"). On April 24, 2020, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act which provided additional funding. On June 5, 2020, the President signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (the "Flexibility... Continue Reading...
  • By: G. Blane Clark, Linda Clark and Dean Cazenave The Small Business Administration ("SBA") issued an update to its "Frequently Asked Questions for Lenders and Borrowers for the Paycheck Protection Program," adding question #46 and the response, which is recited below. For PPP loans of less than $2 million, the borrower will be "deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of... Continue Reading...
  • By: Brian Carnie, G. Blane Clark and Linda Clark In addition to certain entities, independent contractors, sole proprietors and "eligible self-employed individuals" may be eligible to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan under the CARES Act. What is an eligible self-employed individual? It is important to note that the statute did not refer to "self-employed individuals" which would have been very easy for... Continue Reading...
  • By: Dean Cazenave, G. Blane Clark and Elisabeth Prescott Calendar Year 2019 Payroll as Basis for Loan Amount (General Rule). If the borrower was in business for all of 2019, it may use the payroll costs for calendar year 2019 or the last 12 months prior to application (e.g., 4/1/19 – 3/31/20). April 6 guidance issued by the SBA provided: In general, borrowers can... Continue Reading...
  • By: Dean Cazenave, G. Blane Clark and Elisabeth Prescott Calendar Year 2019 Payroll as Basis for Loan Amount (General Rule). If the borrower was in business for all of 2019, the PPP loan application form suggests that the borrower must use the payroll costs for calendar year 2019 (even though this appears to conflict with the language in the CARES Act, which provided for... Continue Reading...
  • By: Carrie Tournillon On Wednesday, April 1, 2020, Governor Edwards announced the availability of a new state-led loan program to provide loans to Louisiana small businesses in response to COVID-19. The Louisiana Loan Portfolio Guaranty Program ("LPGP") is a partnership of the Louisiana Economic Development ("LED"), the Louisiana Bankers Association ("LBA") and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority ("LPFA").... Continue Reading...
  • By: Hannah Robinson and Bentley Jumonville On March 26, 2020, Governor John Bel Edwards issued Emergency Proclamation 37 JBE 2020 (the "Proclamation") providing certain measures intended to aid Louisiana businesses in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, including a temporary suspension of the statutory requirement that Louisiana corporations notice and hold annual and special shareholder meetings at a physical location. Generally, corporations governed... Continue Reading...
  • By: Dean Cazenave, G. Blane Clark and Elisabeth Prescott Keenly aware of the enormous impact COVID-19 is having on small businesses throughout the country, in response, the Congress approved and on March 27, 2020, the President signed the "Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act" (the "CARES Act"). The CARES Act is intended, in part, to provide small businesses some much needed relief in... Continue Reading...
  • By: Brian Carnie, Chelsea Caswell, A. Edward Hardin, Scott Huffstetler, Erin Kilgore, Michael Lowe, Zoe Vermeulen and David Whitaker Responses to the coronavirus that directly impact employers are making their way through Congress. CBS and other news outlets are reporting on Congressional leaders' negotiations regarding various measures that will directly impact employers. These measures include paid emergency sick leave and disaster unemployment assistance. See the attached link from CBS News regarding the Congressional response... Continue Reading...
  • By: Chauvin Kean and Mary Gimber On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization ("WHO"), officially declared COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, a pandemic with nearly 120,000 confirmed cases in 114 countries and over 4,000 deaths. With the number of cases, deaths, and countries affected expected to climb in the coming days and weeks, the virus' global impact is extremely uncertain... Continue Reading...