Joining three other bankruptcy courts, Judge Thuma of the District of New Mexico recently held that the rules issued by the Small Business Administration (“SBA“) that restrict bankrupt entities from participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP“) violated the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, H.R. 748, P.L. 115-136 (the “CARES Act”), as well as section 525(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.

One of the landmark protections enacted by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act on March 27 was the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. Under the program, small businesses (e.g., those with fewer than 500 employees) — and certain other businesses in specific industries — are eligible to receive loans that will be fully forgiven if utilized under the terms of the program, including applying at least 75% of the funds received from the loans to payment of payroll expenses.

Courts continue to address constitutional and statutory challenges to COVID-19-related legislation and governmental orders. Among them, courts are examining eligibility for PPP loans under the CARES Act, as well as the constitutionality of “stay at home” and similar orders restricting activities.

PPP loans under the CARES Act

In collaboration with our foreign law firm partners, we continue to update our chart of COVID-19 measures taken by governments around the world. Today’s update includes new information for many countries as indicated in the chart: Global Government Measures Taken in Response to COVID-19.

This note sets out the circumstances in which a creditor may successfully lift a statutory moratorium against a company in administration in England and Wales, and in Singapore.

English law

On 30 April 2020 took effect Royal Decree-law 16/2020 of 28 April 2020, which includes a new set of measures within the judicial system to deal with the COVID-19 situation.

We highlight below the main measures adopted below:

1. Procedural measures

• Part of August is made a working month, on an exceptional basis

The 11th to the 31st of August 2020 will be working days for all judicial proceedings. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are excluded except for proceedings for which these are already working days.

The SBA’s Rules Exclude Bankruptcy Debtors from Relief Under the Paycheck Protection Program

On April 20, 2020, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation suspending evictions of many residential and commercial tenants as well as halting the foreclosure of most residential properties. The new law, Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2020, “An Act providing for a Moratorium on Evictions and Foreclosures During the COVID-19 Emergency,” takes effect immediately and will remain in place until the earlier of August 18, 2020 or 45 days after Governor Baker lifts the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency declaration.

This article was originally published on Law360.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused, and continues to cause, massive humanitarian and economic upheaval with no clear end in sight. Borrowers are already scrambling to increase liquidity from their banks. Some will continue to operate openly, honestly, and in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders. Others will not.

Less than three weeks after the Intervention Measures to Mitigate the Effects of the COVID-19 Infectious Disease Epidemic on Citizens and the Economy Act (Zakon o interventnih ukrepih za zajezitev epidemije COVID-19 in omilitev njenih posledic za državljane in gospodarstvo; the “Intervention Act”) came into force, new amendments are on their way.