A construction company with cash flow problems did not make payments on its SBA loan–and was terminated from the 8(a) program as a result.
The decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals in C.J. Hearne Construction Co., SBA No. BDP-449 (2012) is an important reminder that unpaid debts to Uncle Sam can be the kiss of death for 8(a) program participation.
A director does not “control” a company under the SBA affiliation rules when that director can be removed at any time by the majority shareholder, according to a recent size appeal decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.
In Size Appeal of Environmental Quality Management, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5429 (2012), SBA OHA arrived at the commonsense conclusion that when a majority shareholder has unfettered discretion to fire a company’s directors, the majority shareholder–not the directors–control the company for purposes of the SBA affiliation rules.
For a procuring agency, is there anything worse than being schooled on principles of timeliness and fairness by a federal judge?
As the Department of Veterans Affairs found out in a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, there is something that may be worse: being schooled by a federal judge repeatedly quoting from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the 1865 book by Lewis Carroll.
As we begin a new year with important legal ramifications for small businesses, I am pleased to introduce a new SmallGovCon series offering viewpoints on those legal issues from thought leaders throughout the government contracting community.
The new feature, Guest Perspectives, kicks off today with a guest post by Kevin J. Allis, the director of the Native American Contractors Association. The post, titled “Section 811 Stifles Native American Growth,” is well worth a read.
If you are interested in the possibility of contributing to Guest Perspectives, please contact me.
While an eleventh hour agreement avoided the “fiscal cliff,” it did not fully resolve potential spending cuts. The agreement delayed the sequester, but its impacts are still being felt by contractors, particularly by small businesses. These entities are at the end of the planning process, and delaying a resolution only prolongs uncertainty.
For Native contractors, there is little to be happy about, and much that raises significant concerns. The consequences of the uncertainty in the federal contracting environment caused by the still looming possibility of sequestration, coupled with the enormously harmful effects of Section 811 of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2010 (“NDAA”), are painting a potentially very dreary picture for these companies and the communities they serve.
VA SDVOSB reconsideration requests were approved in 48% of cases resulting in a decision, according to a GAO report released on Monday.
In the lengthy report, which weighs in at 63 pages, the GAO broadly concludes that the VA CVE has made progress when it comes to the verification of SDVOSBs, but has a ways to go in order for the SDVOSB verification process to be quick, effecient and effective.
This broad conclusion is not in the least bit surprising to anyone who has followed the evolution of the VA SDVOSB verification program. However, the report is also packed with a great deal of interesting information about SDVOSB verification at the VA–including statistics on applications, reconsideration success rates, and more.
Under the SBA affiliation rules, there is no broad exception from affiliation with a non-profit, according to a recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision.
In Size Appeal of Asklepion Pharmaceuticals, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5410 (2012), SBA OHA held that the SBA Area Office properly found a company affiliated with several non-profits, causing the company to be ineligible as a small business.