Justice Department Drops Appeal of Federal Court Ruling, According to the American Small Business League

PETALUMA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The following is a statement by the American Small Business League:

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its appeal of a ruling by the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of California awarding legal fees to
the American Small Business League (ASBL). The case was scheduled to be heard by
the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals early next year.
(http://www.asbl.com/documents/order_dismissingAppeal_SBA_names.pdf,
http://www.asbl.com/documents/motion_dismissAppeal_SBA_Fees.pdf)

Prior to dropping its appeal, the Justice Department offered to drop its appeal
of the District Court's ruling for attorney's fees if the ASBL agreed to waive
legal fees it incurred during the appellant process. The ASBL declined the
Justice Department's offer stating that it preferred to have the case heard by
the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ASBL requested the specific names of the firms that were coded as small
businesses for FY 2005 and 2006 and the specific dollar amounts that were
awarded to those firms from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The
request was made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The SBA refused to comply with the ASBL's request for the data. During
litigation, the SBA claimed that it had no information in its possession
regarding the specific names of firms that had received federal small business
contracts.

In the court's ruling, United States District Judge Marilyn H. Patel stated,
"The court finds it curious the SBA's argument that it does not 'control' the
very information it needs to carry out its duties and functions."
(www.asbl.com/documents/26-2.pdf)

As a result of Patel's ruling, the SBA was ordered to turn over the requested
information and pay all of the legal fees incurred by the ASBL during the
initial litigation process. The information the ASBL finally obtained indicated
that the SBA, the General Services Administration (GSA) and virtually every
other federal agency diverted billions of dollars in federal small business
contracts to Fortune 500 firms and dozens of large businesses in Europe and
Asia.
(http://www.asbl.com/documents/20090825TopSmallBusinessContractors2008.pdf)

Some of the firms that received federal small business contracts included
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, General Dynamics, GTSI,
Rolls-Royce, Dell Computer, Thales Communications, and British Aerospace (BAE).

The ASBL has estimated that legitimate small businesses are losing over $100
billion a year in federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

The ASBL drafted legislation titled, the Fairness and Transparency in
Contracting Act, or H.R. 2568, which would halt the flow of federal small
business contracts to large businesses. On May 21, 2009, Congressman Hank
Johnson (D-GA-4) introduced the bill into the U.S. House of Representatives. To
date, the bill has 15 co-sponsors and has been endorsed by more than 50 chambers
of commerce and business organizations around the country.

American Small Business League
Christopher Gunn, 707-789-9575
Communications Director
cgunn@asbl.com

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