Fountainhead Prevails Over Wrongful Class Action Lawsuit

California court grants motion to dismiss the baseless case against the nonbank lender with prejudice

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fountainhead, a U.S. Small Business Administration-approved, nationwide, nonbank lender for small-to-midsized businesses, today announces it has prevailed in a lawsuit brought by Elizabeth M. Byrnes, Inc.

In May 2020, the Los Angeles business filed a lawsuit accusing Fountainhead of fast-tracking its most lucrative Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan requests and ignoring small loans until the loan program was exhausted. The business also sought to assert its claims on behalf of a class of similarly-situated businesses.

Fountainhead has vigorously maintained that the lawsuit was meritless – especially since over 93% of Fountainhead’s first round PPP borrowers were in the smallest loan size category per the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and over 98% of Fountainhead’s 2021 PPP borrowers were in the smallest loan size category. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, granted Fountainhead’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint with prejudice.

“We are thrilled that the Court correctly dismissed this baseless suit,” said CEO and Founder, Chris Hurn. “The plaintiff attempted on three different occasions to fashion a complaint that could survive a motion to dismiss, but was unable to do so.”

“The legislative and regulatory rollout of PPP was a chaotic time for all PPP lenders, but we at Fountainhead are proud that we overcame those challenges, working tirelessly over countless days and nights to save hundreds of thousands of small businesses in need. The allegations brought by the plaintiff misrepresent everything Fountainhead stands for as an SBA lender. We see the dismissal with prejudice as a clear victory and are pleased to put this distraction to rest, so we can focus fully on helping small businesses across the nation prosper and grow through our SBA 7(a), SBA 504 and our conventional loans” said Hurn.  

For more information on Fountainhead, or ways to grow your small-to-midsized business, visit FountainheadCC.com.

About Fountainhead
Founded in 2015, Fountainhead is one of 14 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) approved nationwide, nonbank, direct commercial lending firms specializing in funding commercial real estate projects and providing growth financing for small-to-midsized businesses utilizing SBA 7(a), SBA 504, and low LTV conventional loans. The nonbank lender is the largest SBA-approved nonbank lender in the Southeast, the largest SBA lender based in Florida, and was recently named the ninth-fastest growing firm in Orlando. The team at Fountainhead has been involved in financing more than $24 billion in total projects over their careers, making them one of the most experienced teams in commercial lending to owners of small-to-midsized businesses.

Media Contact
Ericka Rivera
Uproar PR for Fountainhead
erivera@uproarpr.com
(407) 417-3598