Meduri Farms, Inc. v. U.S. Small Business Administration

CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedSeptember 11, 2025
Docket3:24-cv-01431
StatusUnknown

This text of Meduri Farms, Inc. v. U.S. Small Business Administration (Meduri Farms, Inc. v. U.S. Small Business Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Meduri Farms, Inc. v. U.S. Small Business Administration, (D. Or. 2025).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

MEDURI FARMS, INC., Case No. 3:24-cv-01431-IM

Petitioner, OPINION AND ORDER ON CROSS- MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY v. JUDGMENT

U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION,

Respondent.

Sasha A. Petrova and Steven M. Wilker, Tonkon Torp LLP, 888 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1600, Portland, OR, 97204. Attorneys for Petitioner.

Ariana N. Garousi and Benjamin T. Hickman, Assistant United States Attorneys, and William M. Narus, Acting United States Attorney, United States Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon, 1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 600, Portland, OR 97204. Attorneys for Respondent.

IMMERGUT, District Judge.

Before this Court are cross-motions for summary judgment filed by Petitioner Meduri Farms, Inc. (“Meduri”), ECF 19, and Respondent United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”), ECF 22. Meduri petitions this Court to vacate the SBA’s final decision denying Meduri’s request for forgiveness of its Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw Loan (“PPP2 Loan”). Meduri argues that the SBA’s decision is contrary to statutory text in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). Petitioner Meduri’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“Meduri’s MSJ”), ECF 19 at 2–3. The SBA argues that its denial of Meduri’s application for loan forgiveness was in accordance with controlling federal law and not arbitrary or capricious.

Respondent SBA’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“SBA’s MSJ”), ECF 22 at 2. The central issue in this case is whether the SBA erroneously determined Meduri’s eligibility for the PPP2 loan by averaging the number of employees Meduri had in the twelve calendar months preceding its loan application, as established in 13 C.F.R. § 121.106. This Court concludes that under the Small Business Act’s statutory and regulatory scheme, which governed Meduri’s PPP2 loan, the SBA correctly calculated Meduri’s number of employees using the method in 13 C.F.R. § 121.106. This Court accordingly grants summary judgment to the SBA. LEGAL STANDARDS Summary judgment is appropriate if “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact” and the moving party “is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Under

the APA, a court shall set aside reviewable agency action if it is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A). An agency’s construction of a statute is reviewed de novo. Grand Canyon Univ. v. Cardona, 121 F.4th 717, 723 (9th Cir. 2024) (citing Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, 144 S. Ct. 2244, 2261 (2024)). A court “must exercise independent judgment” when interpreting a statute, but the court may “seek aid from the interpretations of those responsible for implementing particular statutes.” Loper Bright, 144 S. Ct. at 2262. An agency’s “legal error requires that its decisions be set aside.” Grand Canyon Univ., 121 F.4th at 726. But if an agency “construed the law correctly,” then a court reviews the agency’s “application of the law to the facts of the case under the APA’s deferential standards.” Id. at 723. Under this deferential arbitrary-and-capricious standard, the agency action need only be “reasonable and reasonably explained.” Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n v. Prometheus Radio Project, 592 U.S. 414, 423 (2021). The court “simply ensures that the agency has acted within a zone of reasonableness and, in particular, has reasonably considered the relevant issues and reasonably

explained the decision.” Id. The court reviews the agency’s factual findings for substantial evidence and “must uphold such findings if ‘a reasonable mind might accept this particular evidentiary record as adequate to support the agency’s conclusion.’” Grand Canyon Univ., 121 F.4th at 723 (brackets omitted) (quoting Dickinson v. Zurko, 527 U.S. 150, 162 (1999)). BACKGROUND A. Statutory Background Under the Small Business Act, the Small Business Administration provides financing to “small business concerns” primarily by issuing private “Section 7(a) loans” pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 636(a). See In re Gateway Radiology Consultants, P.A., 983 F.3d 1239, 1248 (11th Cir. 2020). The SBA “is empowered to make loans either directly or in cooperation with banks or other financial institutions.” 15 U.S.C. § 636(a)(20)(A). And Congress gave the SBA authority to

“establish general policies” that “govern the granting and denial of applications for financial assistance.” In re Gateway, 983 F.3d at 1248 (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 633(d)). On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) to ameliorate the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pub. L. 116–136, 134 Stat. 281 (2020). The CARES Act established the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) by amending Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act. See 15 U.S.C. § 636(a)(36)(B) (providing that the SBA may guarantee PPP loans “under the same terms, conditions, and processes as a loan made under this subsection”). The PPP temporarily authorized the SBA to guarantee forgivable loans to small businesses affected by the pandemic. Id. § 636(a)(36). The CARES Act permitted borrowing businesses to use PPP loans to cover employees’ payroll costs or a business’s operating costs such as mortgage, rent, or utility payments. Id. § 636(a)(36)(F)(i). An eligible business was one that “employs not more than” 500 employees, with higher employee limits for certain specific industries. Id. § 636(a)(36)(D)(i).

The CARES Act directed the SBA to issue emergency rules implementing the PPP. 15 U.S.C. § 9012. The SBA issued multiple interim final rules (“IFRs”) that governed the PPP. See PPP lender information, U.S. Small Business Admin., https://perma.cc/JA4E-PYVA (archived June 9, 2025). The SBA also provided guidance in the form of periodically updated answers to frequently asked questions. See FAQ for PPP Borrowers and Lenders, U.S. Small Business Admin., https://perma.cc/7U6A-87R2 (archived June 9, 2025). On December 27, 2020, Congress enacted the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small- Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (“Economic Aid Act”). This Act authorized the SBA to extend a second round of PPP loans, known as the Paycheck Protection Program Second Draw (“Second Draw” or “PPP2”) loans, to eligible small businesses. See 15 U.S.C. § 636(a)(37)(B).

Eligible small businesses could apply for up to $2 million in PPP2 loans to cover business costs. 15 U.S.C. § 636(a)(37)(C).

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Meduri Farms, Inc. v. U.S. Small Business Administration, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meduri-farms-inc-v-us-small-business-administration-ord-2025.