Supplemental Declaration of John A. Miller — Blessed Cajuns v. Guzman (N.D. Tex.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth Division) · No. 4:21-cv-00677-O · Doc. 28-1 · 2021-06-11 · Docket on CourtListener

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 
FORT WORTH DIVISION 
 
BLESSED CAJUNS LLC, et al.,  
Plaintiffs, 
v. 
ISABELLA CASILLAS GUZMAN, et al., 
Defendants. 
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Case No. 4:21-00677-O 
 
SUPPLEMENTAL DECLARATION OF JOHN A. MILLER 
I, JOHN A. MILLER, hereby declare as follows: 
1. 
I have worked at the United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) for over 
twenty years.  I currently hold the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Capital Access.  
The Office of Capital Access is responsible for the operation of and development of policy for the 
SBA’s business loan programs authorized under the Small Business Act and the Restaurant 
Revitalization Fund (“RRF”) program authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), 
among others.  I am the highest-ranking career official in the Office of Capital Access and am 
knowledgeable about the RRF program.  I have previously submitted three declarations in this 
matter.  See ECF Nos. 11 (“May 25 Miller Decl.”), 14 (“May 27 Miller Decl.”); 20-1 (“June 1 Miller 
Decl.”). 
2. 
This fourth declaration is intended to clarify several paragraphs, and correct part of 
one paragraph, in my June 1, 2021 declaration based on information discovered showing that some 
priority applicants had their claims processed—but not paid—between May 26, 2021 and the 
morning of May 28, 2021, and that these applicants were issued auto-generated approval notification 
emails on May 28 and May 29, 2021. 
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3. 
I make this declaration based on my personal knowledge, and information provided 
to me in the course of performing my duties and responsibilities as the Deputy Associate 
Administrator for Capital Access. 
4. 
On May 28, 2021 at approximately 3:47pm ET, 1,901 priority applicants were issued 
an auto-generated email notification indicting that their applications for RRF grants had been 
approved.  See Ex. 1.  The notifications indicated that SBA would “process the funding of this award 
directly to your Bank account within 3-7 business days from this notification.”  Id. 
5. 
On May 29, 2021 at approximately 1:32pm ET, approximately 1,064 priority 
applicants were issued identical auto-generated emails notifying them that their applications for RRF 
grants had also been approved.  See Ex. 1.  In sum, 2,965 priority applicants received these auto-
generated messages on May 28 and May 29, 2021.  Approximately 542 of these applicants had filed 
their applications on May 3, 2021, with the remainder distributed across the application period 
ending on May 24, 2021.  
6. 
SBA inquired into the processing of these 2,965 priority applications to determine 
why they were issued auto-generated approval emails.  In particular, SBA looked into when these 
applications were designated as “fully approved” in SBA’s application system.  Once an application 
is “fully approved” in SBA’s application system, any further action taken with the application at that 
point is automated and is no longer part of SBA’s processing of the application. 
7. 
SBA found that among these 2,965 priority applicants who were issued auto-
generated email approval notifications: (1) 124 were “fully approved” prior to May 26, 2021; (2) 909 
were “fully approved” on May 26, 2021; (3) 1,049 were “fully approved” on May 27, 2021; and (4) 
858 were “fully approved” on May 28, 2021.  The last approval occurred at 11:35am ET on May 28, 
2021, shortly before the Court’s injunction was entered on the docket.  
8. 
SBA has paused further action on these applications (other than actions necessary to 
unwind the automated approval notifications described above).  SBA will not pay these claims at this 
time because the legal conclusions in the Court’s May 28, 2021 order in this case and the Court’s 
May 18, 2021 order in the Greer case would preclude payment.  Absent some future court order that 
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would permit it, SBA will only pay these applications once it completes processing all previously 
filed non-priority applications, and only then if the RRF is not first exhausted.  June 1 Miller Decl. ¶ 
8.  SBA has not disbursed funds for any priority applicants since May 28, 2021, consistent with my 
earlier declaration.  See June 1 Miller Decl. ¶ 9. 
9. 
In view of the foregoing, I wish to further clarify paragraphs 8, 9, 17, and 19 of my 
June 1, 2021 declaration, and to correct a statement in paragraph 9 of that declaration.   
10. 
Paragraph 8 stated: “SBA is not currently processing any priority applications.”  June 
1 Miller Decl. ¶ 8.  This statement remains accurate, as SBA was not processing priority applications 
as of the date of my third declaration, June 1, 2021.  However, I wish to clarify this statement by 
noting, as explained above, SBA was processing some priority applications up until 11:35am ET on 
May 28, 2021.   
11. 
Paragraph 9 stated:  
 
The final priority applications funded by SBA were booked into SBA’s E-Tran 
system for disbursement of funds by Treasury on the afternoon of May 27, 2021 at 
approximately 3:27pm ET.  This group of approximately 2,002 priority applicants 
had previously been approved prior to the time SBA stopped further processing of 
priority applications on May 26, 2021 but were returned due technical errors.  The 
funds for these applicants were disbursed by Treasury on the morning of May 28, 
2021, prior to this Court’s injunction.  (June 1 Miller Decl. ¶ 9) 
This paragraph remains accurate with respect to the 2,002 priority applications it addressed and the 
date on which SBA last paid priority applications.  But I have since learned that the embedded 
point—that SBA stopped further processing of priority applications on May 26, 2021—was 
inaccurate.   As outlined above, 1,049 priority applications were approved (but not paid) on May 27, 
2021, and 858 were approved (but not paid) on May 28, 2021.   
12. 
Paragraph 17 stated: “SBA also had already paused all further processing of priority 
applications and begun processing only non-priority applications based on the order in which they 
were received [at the time of the Court’s injunction].”  June 1 Miller Decl. ¶ 17.  This statement also 
remains accurate, as the final priority application approved as part of the 2,965 that were issued 
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auto-generated email approval notifications received full approval from SBA at 11:35am ET on May 
28, 2021.  The Court’s injunction was issued at 12:10pm ET on May 28, 2021.  See ECF No. 18. 
13. 
Paragraph 19 stated: “SBA undertook efforts to pause all such further processing of 
any claim—non-priority or otherwise—filed after PSBH LLC’s.”  June 1 Miller Decl. ¶ 19.  This 
statement also remains accurate, as none of the 2,965 priority applications described above were 
processed after the Court issued its injunction; rather, they received auto-generated approval emails 
after full SBA approval.  
 
Pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the 
foregoing is true and correct.  
 
Executed on this 11th day of June, 2021 in Washington, DC.  
 
 
_____________________________ 
John A. Miller 
Deputy Associate Administrator for Capital Access  
U.S. Small Business Administration 
 
 
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JOHN MILLER
Digitally signed by JOHN MILLER 
Date: 2021.06.11 15:48:10 -04'00'

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