Press Releases

NCLA Brings Second Lawsuit Against SBA’s Unlawful Criminal History Rule for PPP Loans

Washington, DC (June 26, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group filed a complaint in MoveCorp, et al. v. U.S. Small Business Administration, et al., in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. NCLA represents Michael Loughrey, who is majority owner of MoveCorp, a moving company serving local business clients in Austin, Texas. The Small Business Administration (SBA) unlawfully denied Mr. Loughrey’s application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act by virtue of SBA’s unlawful “Criminal History Rule,” which excludes all persons indicted or charged of any crime.

NCLA Lawsuit Forces Change in SBA Regulation to Make Hundreds of PPP Loan Applicants Eligible

Washington, DC (June 26, 2020) – Altimont Mark Wilks, a small business owner from Hagerstown, Md., who was unlawfully barred from applying for a much-needed Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan, can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Mr. Wilks’s behalf on June 17.

NCLA Asks 10th Cir. to Reverse Panel’s Failure to Follow Chevron Precedent in Bump Stock Ban Case

Washington, DC (June 19, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance today filed a petition for rehearing en banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in the case of W. Clark Aposhian v. William Barr, Attorney General of the United States, et al. NCLA is seeking review from the full Court, arguing that the panel majority erred in last month’s 2-1 decision to deny NCLA client Clark Aposhian’s appeal.

NCLA Appeals Flawed ALJ Ruling on ‘Salt Mine’ Tweet to the National Labor Relations Board

Washington, DC (June 19, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, today filed exceptions and a supporting brief to the April 22nd decision issued by a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in Joel Fleming v. FDRLST Media, LLC.

Ray Lucia’s Sweetheart Settlement Proves that for the SEC the Sour Process Is the Punishment

Washington, DC (June 16, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights organization, has negotiated a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on behalf of its clients, Ray Lucia Sr. and Raymond J. Lucia Companies. Mr. Lucia waged a long, contentious battle, refusing to bow to an agency with unlimited resources unwilling to admit that its prosecution efforts had become wholly disproportionate to the alleged infraction.

NCLA to Appeal NDNY Ruling that Stymies Ex-Cornell Prof’s Fight for Due Process in Title IX Hearings

Washington, DC (June 16, 2020) – Dr. Mukund Vengalattore was a well-liked and well-regarded young physics professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. He spent all his time running a bustling lab full of graduate students and attracting steady streams of federal funding when his Title IX nightmare began. In 2014, a former grad student whom Cornell dismissed for academic reasons accused him of sexual misconduct. She had sworn publicly when leaving campus that she would make sure Dr. Vengalattore never got tenure, and she followed through with a Title IX complaint...

NCLA Sues Small Business Administration for Denying PPP Loans to Applicants with Criminal Histories

Washington, DC (June 11, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group filed the complaint, Carmen’s Corner Store, et al. v. U.S. Small Business Administration, et al., today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. NCLA represents Altimont Mark Wilks, a small business owner from Hagerstown, Md., who was unlawfully barred from applying for PPP loans because he is still on probation. The suit challenges unlawful portions of the agency’s Interim Final Rule...

NCLA Amicus Brief Discourages Ninth Cir. En Banc Court from Deferring to State Administrators’ Interpretations of U.S. Constitution, State Statutes and Regulations

Washington, DC (June 5, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in George K. Young, Jr. v. State of Hawaii, et al. in support of Mr. Young. NCLA’s brief dissuades the full court from deferring to state administrators’ factual speculations and to their interpretations of the U.S. Constitution or of state statutes and regulations.

WATCH: NCLA Launches Animated Video and Petition to End “Gag Rule” that Silences People Who Settle with SEC

Washington, DC (June 4, 2020) – Imagine being silenced for life and unable to tell your side of the story. There is a “Gag Rule” in place at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) meant to do just that. Every year, people are coerced into settling with the agency out of fear of a drawn-out, expensive administrative hearing process that can ruin reputations, disrupt families, destroy businesses, and end prosperous careers.

NCLA Asks US Supreme Court to Recognize that Administrative Policymaking Is Profoundly Unequal for Religious Americans

Washington, DC (June 3, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed an amicus brief  today in the Supreme Court of the United States in Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, et al. In 2018, Philadelphia abruptly terminated foster placement through Catholic Social Services (CSS) leaving foster parents like Sharonell Fulton, who has fostered more than 40 children, without CSS’s support.

NCLA Asks U.S. District Court for New Jersey to Stop Governor’s Abuse of Emergency Powers

Washington, DC (June 2, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group filed the complaint, Matthew Johnson v. Philip D. Murphy, et al., today against Governor Murphy in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, challenging Executive Order No. 128. The order, which violates federal constitutional law, state constitutional law, state contract law and state landlord-tenant law, purports to allow tenants to use their security deposits to offset rent or back rent.

NCLA Asks Oregon Supreme Court to Prevent Governor’s Usurpation of Law-Making Power

Washington, DC (June 2, 2020) – The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, filed an amicus brief today in the Oregon Supreme Court in Elkhorn Baptist Church, et al. v. Katherine Brown. A broad coalition of local churches brought the case after being seriously disturbed by Governor Katherine Brown’s restrictions on religious gatherings since late March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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