San Antonio team secures complete dismissal for pro bono client LiftFund, Inc.

A team from Norton Rose Fulbright’s San Antonio office secured a complete dismissal for pro bono client LiftFund, Inc. in a Section 1983 racial discrimination lawsuit brought in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas by a business and its owner against LiftFund and co-defendant Bexar County.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), the plaintiffs sued LiftFund and Bexar County, alleging that the defendants unlawfully discriminated on the basis of race in their administration of a COVID-related grant program providing relief to small businesses in the area.

LiftFund is a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution and Community Development Corporation that supports small business owners with limited access to capital through small business loans and technical support for their dreams of entrepreneurship. Bexar County contracted with LiftFund to administer its Small Business Assistance Program due to its expertise in the microlending industry.

LiftFund and Bexar County successfully argued that the plaintiff submitted an incomplete application and could not be considered by the program as they failed to meet the baseline eligibility requirements for the program. Thus, the plaintiffs were ineligible for a grant for a race-neutral reason, and they therefore lacked standing to seek compensation for the denial of their application. US District Judge Jason K. Pulliam also ruled that because the program had ended, the plaintiffs did not have standing to seek injunctive relief or a declaratory judgment. The plaintiffs have appealed the dismissal.

The team from Norton Rose Fulbright included Neel Lane, Michael O’Donnell, Aimeé Vidaurri, Alicia Grant, and Josh Taylor (San Antonio).