by ShuffieldLowman | Nov 3, 2020 | Corporate Law, News |
ShuffieldLowman served as legal counsel for Colorado Boxed Beef Company (CBBC), a leading national provider of protein products during its merger with Quirch Foods, creating a leading U.S. distributor and exporter of protein and ethnic food products. CBBC was founded in 1975 with its roots beginning as a protein supplier in the southeast. Now, they are a leading supplier of protein products in the U.S., with both a national and international footprint with their distribution facilities. CBBC was the portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area with more than $2.5 billion of assets under management. You can view the full press release HERE.
The ShuffieldLowman team that advised CBBC included mergers & acquisitions partners Julia Dennis and the firm president, William Lowman, lending and M&A partner Jason Davis, and real estate counsel attorney Maia Albrecht, along with our talented team of paralegals, Darlene Crisler and Kylea Perrott.
by Daniel Harris | Oct 5, 2020 | Blog, Corporate Law |
Congratulations! You successfully navigated the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application process and you were awarded a loan from the SBA. You have spent all the funds in accordance with your advisor’s recommendations and your business’ needs. Now you would like to apply for forgiveness of that loan to turn it into a grant. What do you need to know and what actions do you need to take? Have no fear, the SBA recently issued additional guidance in the form of FAQs to assist you.
Will you need to submit documents with original signatures in ink? It is acceptable to submit digital or scanned copies of any applications or supporting documentation for your loan forgiveness request. Any signatures or consents that you need to provide may also be completed electronically. You should check with your lender/servicer, to make sure their internal rules also allow for this.
If you submit your forgiveness application during the 10-month period after the covered period of your loan ends, then you will not be required to make any loan payments until the forgiveness amount is determined by your lender.
You may elect an Alternative Payroll Covered Period if that aligns better with your payroll practices than the standard Covered Period. Payroll costs incurred during the period are eligible for forgiveness if they are paid by the following payroll date after your period ends.
If you took an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advance, then that amount will reduce any amount of loan forgiveness that you qualify for. If the amount of your EIDL advance exceeds your PPP loan amount, then you will not qualify for any forgiveness.
One important point to remember is that forgiveness is not all or nothing. You may obtain partial forgiveness for the portion of your loan that was expended on allowable expenses and otherwise qualifies under the workforce retention guidelines. If you only qualify for partial forgiveness, then your lender is required to: (1) notify you of the amount of your PPP loan that will not be forgiven, (2) notify you of the date that you are required to start making loan payments, and (3) continue to service your loan over its term.
When should you apply for forgiveness? Many businesses are waiting to file the application for forgiveness since SBA may continue to issue new regulations. Additionally, it appears that another coronavirus relief package is in the works in Congress. It is certainly possible that a new relief package could change the parameters around receiving forgiveness. You may wish to wait a little longer so that there is more certainty before you apply. You should discuss the timing of your forgiveness request with your advisors.
What if you don’t agree with a decision that SBA has made related to your PPP loan or forgiveness of it? There is a process to appeal any decision made by the SBA that negatively impacts you. For instance, SBA is reviewing PPP loans to determine whether the borrower was eligible for all or a portion of the loan they received, if the funds were spent appropriately, to what extent you qualify for forgiveness, etc. If you decide that you need to appeal, then you must include quite a bit of information with your appeal request (copy of the decision you are appealing, a statement of your position, the relief you are requesting, copies of tax filings for your payroll, and additional tax records). You may want to seek help from a trusted advisor to increase your chance of a successful appeal. For more information on PPP loan forgiveness guidelines, see our blog on that topic here.
To speak with an attorney from our corporate law or banking and finance departments, fill out our website contact form or call our Orlando office at 407-581-9800.
by ShuffieldLowman | Oct 1, 2020 | Blog, Corporate Law |
The beginning of 2020 brought substantial changes to the Florida Business Corporation Act (“FBCA”). The revised FBCA was signed into law on June 7, 2019 by Governor DeSantis and became effective on January 1, 2020.
The FBCA has not had a substantial revision since it was first revised in 1989. A comprehensive overhaul of the FCBA was warranted to bring Florida’s corporate statute up to date with modern corporate statutory trends and developments. The amendments to the FBCA are modeled after the 2016 version of the Model Business Corporation Act, albeit with several certain deviations. The revised FBCA represents an extensive change to Florida law in 2020; some of these changes include:
- Various definition and language changes;
- Provides for the expansion of a minority shareholder’s appraisal rights;
- Provides for the reservation of a corporate name for 120 days;
- Provides for increased judicial discretion in dissolution matters;
- Addresses items that may be added to articles of incorporation and, at least in one case, one topic that cannot be included in the articles;
- Allows domestic entities, such as a domestic limited liability company, and foreign entities authorized to do business in Florida to act as registered agents; and
- Authorizes a court to remove a director in a derivative proceeding under certain circumstances.
Owners, shareholders, officers, and directors of Florida corporations should be cognizant of the FBCA revisions and how said changes could potentially impact their rights, duties, and obligations. If you are interested in learning more about the amendments to the FBCA please feel free to contact us.
by ShuffieldLowman | Jun 8, 2020 | Banking and Finance, Blog, Corporate Law, Covid-19 |
Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 on June 3, 2020, and President Trump signed it into law on June 5, 2020. The Act made some key revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) as well as provided further clarity for issues surrounding the forgiveness portion of the loan. Below are some of the significant amendments that businesses who applied and received PPP loans should now review and take into consideration.
1. While the CARES Act originally granted borrowers only eight weeks to spend the PPP Loan money, this new Act now gives borrowers 24 weeks from when the loan proceeds are received to use the funds and still qualify for forgiveness.
2. The CARES Act originally mandated that at least 75% of the PPP loan funds had to be used towards employee payroll in order for the loan to be forgiven. This new Act has reduced that to 60%. This means that businesses can now use 40% of the loan towards non-payroll expenses and still be eligible for forgiveness. This change was perhaps the most significant as it will make many more businesses (especially those who have not yet been able to hire back employees) eligible for loan forgiveness. Keep in mind, this means that businesses will now have 24 weeks to spend the funds on qualifying rent, utilities and mortgage payments on up to 40% of their PPP loan.
3. For loans that are not forgiven, borrowers now have a minimum of five years to repay the loan – up from the previous two years.
4. Borrowers now have until December 31, 2020 to get their “full-time equivalent” (FTE) employee count back to what it was in the reference period in order to avoid a reduction in the amount of the loan being forgiven. The original deadline was June 30, 2020.
5. The Act allows for two new exceptions for borrowers to achieve full PPP loan forgiveness even if they don’t fully restore their workforce. Borrowers were already allowed to exclude employees who turned down good-faith offers to be rehired at the same hours and wages as before the pandemic. The PPPFA adds that an employer can be exempt from the loan forgiveness reduction related to workforce restaffing if they can document that they:
- Are unable to find and hire similarly qualified employees for unfilled positions on or before December 31, 2020; or
- Are unable to restore business operations to the levels they were at on Feb. 15, 2020, due to COVID-19-related operating restrictions.
6. Under the new law, businesses can defer payment of the employer portion of the Social Security taxes until 2022 (50 percent to be paid in 2021 and the remainder in 2022), regardless of when the loan is forgiven.
7. Payments under the previous guidelines were set to be due after 6 months. Now payments are no longer due until the forgiveness amount is determined and remitted to the lender.
Although many of these changes eased some of the burdens borrowers felt, there are also some major issues that are awaiting clarification. These include:
- Forgiveness Calculation: Will businesses still be eligible for loan forgiveness if their payroll costs fall under 60% of the loan? Under the previous rule, if a company’s payroll expenses were less than 75% of the loan, they could still receive loan forgiveness, but the amount forgiven would be prorated. The way the new law is written, it is unclear whether loan forgiveness would be available for anyone whose payroll costs fall below 60% of the total loan.
- Compensation Limitations: Under the previous law, there was a cap for compensation for any employee making over $100,000. (The cap was $15,384 for the 8-week covered period). The question now is if the provision that increases the covered period to 24 weeks also allows for the salary of employees over $100,000 to be calculated at the 24-week period as well.
ShuffieldLowman’s Corporate Law and Banking & Finance teams are continuing to monitor the changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, and how these new laws will affect Central Florida businesses, banks, and lenders. To speak to an attorney, fill out our contact form.
by Alberto Montequin | May 20, 2020 | Announcements, Banking and Finance, Blog, Corporate Law, Covid-19 |
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) released its long-awaited guidance on the forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) Loans, in the form of the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application (the “Application”). The Application contains four components – 1) the PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculation Form, 2) the PPP Schedule A, 3) the PPP Schedule A Worksheet, and 4) the PPP Borrower Demographic Information Form. In order to qualify for forgiveness, a Borrower must provide its Lender with a complete PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculation Form and the PPP Schedule A. The PPP Schedule A Worksheet, on which the Borrower must identify each employee employed during the covered period and allocate payroll costs incurred by each such employee (amongst other things), must be completed and maintained within the Borrower’s records for six years after forgiveness, but is not required to be submitted to the Lender at the time of application for forgiveness. The PPP Borrower Demographic Information Form is completely optional. Accompanying the Application are a set of very detailed instructions which highlight several new developments in the manner in which the forgiveness program will be interpreted and administered. The following are a few of those developments:
- Expansion of “Covered Period” –The CARES Act provides that forgiveness will apply to certain costs incurred and payments made (more on this later) during the “Covered Period”, which is defined as the 8-week period beginning on the date of the origination of the PPP Loan (i.e. the date the loan is disbursed to Borrower). The Application clarifies that Borrowers now have the option of designating an “Alternative Payroll Covered Period,” which will begin on the first day of the Borrower’s first pay period following the date of disbursement. This Alternative Payroll Covered Period may be used instead of the “Covered Period” for calculations related to payroll costs and forgiveness reductions, but not for the calculations related to non-payroll costs eligible for forgiveness, such as interest on mortgage debt, rent, and utilities.
- Loans greater than $2 million, affiliates included – The Application contains a check-box which must be checked off by Borrowers who, together with their affiliates, have received PPP loans in excess of $2 million. The FAQ for Lenders and Borrowers (the “FAQ”) published and periodically updated by the SBA, in questions 39 and 46, had already made clear that such Borrowers would be subject to a review of their loan file by the SBA and Department of Treasury, so it should be no mystery why this check-box is included in the Application. However, the significance of this inclusion is that Borrowers must now actively confirm whether their loan amount combined with their affiliate’s loan amount(s) exceeds the $2 million threshold in order to provide the accurate information on the Application. This will require such Borrowers to interpret the affiliation rules contained in the regulations concerning the Small Business Act and the prior regulations released regarding the CARES Act in order to accurately check the box.
- Payroll Costs incurred but not paid may be forgiven– According to the instructions for the PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculation Form, payroll costs fall within the Covered Period or Alternative Covered Period, and are therefore eligible for forgiveness, when they are either 1) paid, meaning a paycheck has been distributed or an ACH credit transaction has been originated, or 2) not paid, but incurred during the last pay period of the Covered Period or Alternative Payroll Covered Period, as applicable, and paid on or before the next regular payroll date. This clarifies the meaning of the phrase “costs incurred and payments made during the covered period,” as used in the CARES Act with respect to payroll costs eligible for forgiveness.
- Payroll costs forgiveness capped at $15,385.00 per employee – the CARES Act has always specified that “payroll costs” do not include “the compensation of an employee in excess of an annual salary of $100,000.00, as prorated for the covered period.” Now, that exclusion has been condensed to a specific number – $15,385.00. In the PPP Schedule A Worksheet, Borrowers must not allocate more than this amount to any single employee.
- FTE calculation revealed – Under the CARES Act, a Borrower’s forgiveness amount will be reduced by a factor based on a reduction in the average “full-time equivalent employees” (“FTE”) during the covered period. After much speculation as to whether FTE’s would be calculated in accordance with I.R.S. standards or otherwise, the Application has revealed two ways in which FTE’s may be calculated for purposes of determining the reduction factor – 1) for each employee, enter the average number of hours paid per week, divide by 40, and round the total to the nearest tenth, capped at 1.0 or 2) employees who work 40 hours or more per week are assigned 1.0 FTE, and all other employees are assigned a .50 FTE (the “simplified” method). Under the first method, for example, if an employee Is paid an average of 35 hours per week, he or she will count as .9 FTE (.875 rounded to the nearest tenth).
- New exceptions to reductions in forgiveness – Now, the reductions in the forgiveness amount due to reduction in FTE will not apply 1) for any positions for which the Borrower made a good-faith, written offer to rehire an employee during the Covered Period or Alternative Covered Period which the employee rejects, and 2) for any employees who were fired for cause, voluntarily resigned, or voluntarily requested and received a reduction of their hours, during the Covered Period or Alternative Covered Period. The exception will not apply to either if these categories if a new employee is hired to replace the one lost. One thing to note is that these exceptions are limited to events occurring in the 8-week Covered Period or Alternative Covered Period. This may be significant since some of these events may have occurred outside the 8-week period but may nonetheless factor into the reduction calculation. For example, if any employees voluntarily resigned after February 15, 2020 (the date which a Borrowers FTE numbers during the Covered Period or Alternative Covered Period are compared against) but before the Covered Period or Alternative Covered Period begins, then they will presumably factor into the reduction in FTE’s per the calculation in the Act, even though they were not terminated by the Borrower.
Here is a link to the Application, in its entirety – https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-05/3245-0407%20SBA%20Form%203508%20PPP%20Forgiveness%20Application.pdf
For the latest updates on PPP Loan Forgiveness Guidance, contact our corporate law or banking and finance teams for more information. To see other legal updates that are occurring from COVID-19, visit our resources page HERE.
by Alberto Montequin | May 15, 2020 | Blog, Corporate Law, Covid-19 |
On May 13, 2020 the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) published new guidance clarifying prior guidance which had left many loan recipients confused and fearful of potential penalties associated with their PPP loans. To recap, over the last few weeks there has been much news and discussion debating whether companies who have received PPP Loans were actually eligible at the time they applied for the loan, and whether they should return the money. This came on the heels of the SBA’s publication of Question 31 on its Payment Protection Program Frequently Asked Questions document (the “FAQ”) on April 23, 2020, which states that recipients should have considered their economic need for the loan, including their current business activity and adequate sources of liquidity, at the time they applied for the loan. FAQ 31 goes on to permit recipients to pay back their PPP loans without any penalty for making bad-faith certifications on their application, before May 7th (a deadline that was subsequently extended to May 14th). Ultimately, FAQ 31, as well as the subsequent interim final rules issued by the SBA, simply added to the confusion surrounding the PPP Loan program, and led many borrowers to pay back their PPP loan out of concern that they might be investigated by the SBA for inadvertently making bad-faith certifications on their loan application.
The newly published Question 46 of the FAQ clarifies that any Borrowers of PPP loans under $2 million will be subject to a “safe harbor,” meaning that they are automatically deemed to have made the certifications regarding their need for the PPP loan in good faith, and will not be subject to investigation or penalty. This guidance provides relief to the vast majority of Borrowers, as only a relatively small number of Borrowers have received loans in excess of $2 million, per the SBA’s published data. For those Borrowers who did receive loans in amounts greater than $2 million, Question 47 of the FAQ extends the deadline to pay back the PPP loan through May 18, 2020, so they have a few more days to consider whether they should pay back their PPP loan. In doing so, the following are a few factors these Borrowers should consider:
1) any sources of liquidity, including lines of credit of cash reserves, that the Borrower and/or its affiliates may have had access to at the time they applied for the PPP Loan,
2) whether tapping into those other sources of liquidity to cover the business’s payroll costs, rather than taking the loan, would have been significantly detrimental to the business;
3) whether those sources of liquidity are needed to cover expenses other than payroll costs or cannot be used for payroll costs for other reasons;
4) how the economic uncertainties made applying for the PPP loan a necessary action to secure the survival of your business; and
5) how the pandemic and the government mandated shut down orders have actually affected the underlying stability of your business.
Borrowers should document these details, as well as any other reasons they believe the PPP Loan was necessary to support its ongoing operations, in a brief memorandum in preparation for a review by the SBA and Department of Treasury, who have pledged to review every loan in excess of $2 million following the Borrower’s request for forgiveness. This review will likely look at the Borrower’s initial need for the loan, as well as the Borrower’s use of the loan proceeds, to ensure compliance with the terms of the CARES Act and the subsequent released guidance and regulations. In fact, it may be prudent for Borrowers with loans under $2 million to prepare a brief memorandum for their records, in case their lender asks them to reconfirm their certification that the current economic uncertainty made the loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of their business.
FAQ 46 also states that if the SBA and Department of Treasury determine that a Borrower did not make the certifications regarding their need for the PPP Loan in good faith, and did not return the funds in a timely manner, it will “seek repayment of the outstanding PPP loan balance” and will deem the Borrower ineligible for forgiveness, but will not pursue any other penalties in connection with the bad-faith certification as long as the Borrower pays back the PPP Loan. Ultimately, Borrowers of PPP Loans in excess of $2 million can still have a legitimate basis for their application, but will need to make sure they are prepared to defend that basis when the SBA and Department of Treasury review their loan.
The periodically updated FAQ can be found on the SBA website at https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Paycheck-Protection-Program-Frequently-Asked-Questions.pdf.
If you would like to discuss the Cares Act with an attorney, you can contact us here.
