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What To Do If The SBA Lender Or SBA Denies Your Request For Loan Mitigation Help Or Financial Hardship Accommodation

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What To Do If The SBA Lender Or SBA Denies Your Request For Loan Mitigation Help Or Financial Hardship Accommodation

When an SBA Lender or the SBA denies loss mitigation options (like forbearance, loan modification, hardship accommodation or deferral) to a small business experiencing temporary cash flow issues, potential actions and affirmative defenses can depend on the signed loan agreement, applicable law, and whether the lender is a private or government-backed institution.

Below are some potential causes of action, affirmative defenses or legal theories that might apply to your case:

1. Breach of Contract

  • Applicable  if: The SBA loan agreement or ancillary documents include provisions requiring the SBA lender to consider or offer loss mitigation, or if the SBA lender fails to honor agreed-upon terms.
  • Key Argument: SBA Lender and/or SBA failed to perform obligations, such as reviewing the small business in good faith for forbearance or restructuring.

2. Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing

  • Applicable if: The SBA Lender and/or SBA acted arbitrarily or capriciously in denying mitigation without reasonable cause, especially if mitigation is customary under industry standards or course of dealing.
  • Key Argument: The SBA Lender and/or SBA unfairly deprived the borrower and/or guarantors of the benefits of the contract.

3. Promissory Estoppel

  • Applicable if: The SBA Lender and/or SBA made a promise (oral or written) to provide or consider mitigation, the small business relied on it to its detriment.
  • Key Argument: The small business took action or refrained from alternatives (e.g., seeking other financing) in reliance on the SBA lender’s and/or SBA's promise.

4. Negligent Misrepresentation

  • Applicable if: The SBA Lender and/or SBA made false representations about the availability of relief, modification criteria, or eligibility process.
  • Key Argument: Misstatements caused the small business to forego other viable solutions.

5. Fraud

  • Applicable  if: There was intentional deception by the SBA Lender and/or SBA regarding the availability of loss mitigation or inducement into further payments under false pretenses.

6. Unfair Business Practices / Violation of State UDAP Laws

  • Applicable if: The SBA Lender's and/or SBA's conduct is deceptive, oppressive, or unfair under federal or state law.
  • Example:In California, a claim under the Unfair Competition Law (UCL) (Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200).

7. Tortious Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage

  • Applicable if: The SBA Lender's and/or SBA's denial disrupts the small business's ability to secure contracts, investors, or other financing that were reasonably certain to occur.

Federal Causes of Action (in some contexts)

  • Administrative  Procedure Act (APA) – If the lender is a government agency or acting on behalf of one (e.g., SBA).
  • Violation  of CARES Act or PPP/EIDL rules – If the loan is federally backed  and subject to statutory mitigation or deferment guidelines.

Strategic Considerations

  • Review all correspondenceloan documentsprior forbearance or workout agreements, and any internal policies or governmental  guidelines the SBA Lender and/or SBA are subject to.
  • Assess whether the SBA Lender and/or SBA acted inconsistently with similar borrowers, obligors and/or guarantors (discriminatory or disparate treatment).
  • If applicable, check if the small business is a minority- or woman-owned  and whether disparate impact claims are viable under possible civil rights laws (if federally involved).

Why Hire Us to Help You with Your Treasury or SBA Debt Problems?

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Millions of Dollars in SBA Debts Resolved via Offer in Compromise and Negotiated Repayment Agreements without our Clients filing for Bankruptcy or Facing Home Foreclosure

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$166,000 SBA 7A LOAN - NEGOTIATED WORKOUT AGREEMENT

$166,000 SBA 7A LOAN - NEGOTIATED WORKOUT AGREEMENT

Clients executed personal and corporate guarantees for an SBA 7(a) loan from a Preferred Lender Provider (PLP). The borrower corporation defaulted on the loan exposing all collateral pledged by the Clients. The SBA subsequently acquired the loan balance from the PLP, including the right to collect against all guarantors. The SBA sent the Official Pre-Referral Notice to the guarantors giving them sixty (60) days to either pay the outstanding balance in full, negotiate a Repayment (Offer in Compromise (OIC) or Structured Workout (SW)), challenge their alleged guarantor liability or file a Request for Hearing (Appeals Petition) with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals.

Because the Clients were not financially eligible for an OIC, they opted for Structured Workout negotiations directly with the SBA before the debt was transferred to the Bureau of Fiscal Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Treasury for enforced collection.

The Firm was hired to negotiate a global Workout Agreement directly with the SBA to resolve the personal and corporate guarantees. After submitting the Structured Workout proposal, the assigned SBA Loan Specialist approved the requested terms in under ten (10) days without any lengthy back and forth negotiations.

The favorable terms of the Workout included an extended maturity at an affordable principal amount, along with a significantly reduced interest rate saving the Clients approximately $181,000 in administrative fees, penalties and interest (contract interest rate and Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR)) as authorized by 31 U.S.C. § 3717(e) had the SBA loan been transferred to BFS.

$324,000 SBA 7A LOAN - SBA OHA LITIGATION

$324,000 SBA 7A LOAN - SBA OHA LITIGATION

Clients obtained an SBA 7(a) loan for $324,000 to buy a small business and its facility. The business and real estate had an appraisal value of $318,000 at the time of purchase.  The business ultimately failed but the participating lender abandoned the business equipment and real estate collateral even though it had valid security liens. As a result, the lender recouped nearly nothing from the pledged collateral, leaving the business owners liable for the deficiency balance. The SBA paid the lender the 7(a) guaranty money and was assigned ownership of the debt, including the right to collect. However, the clients never received the SBA Official 60-Day Notice and were denied the opportunity to negotiate an Offer in Compromise (OIC) or a Workout directly with the SBA before being transferred to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service, which added an additional $80,000 in collection fees. Treasury garnished and offset the clients' wages, federal salary and social security benefits. When the clients tried to negotiate with Treasury by themselves, they were offered an unaffordable repayment plan which would have caused severe financial hardship. Clients subsequently hired the Firm to litigate an Appeals Petition before the SBA Office & Hearings Appeals (OHA) challenging the legal enforceability and amount of the debt. The Firm successfully negotiated a term OIC that was approved by the SBA Office of General Counsel, saving the clients approximately $205,000.

$375,000 SBA 504 LOAN - SBA OIC CASH SETTLEMENT

$375,000 SBA 504 LOAN - SBA OIC CASH SETTLEMENT

The client personally guaranteed an SBA 504 loan balance of $375,000.  Debt had been cross-referred to the Treasury at the time we got involved with the case.  We successfully had debt recalled to the SBA where we then presented an SBA OIC that was accepted for $58,000.

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