Banks Headed For Total Victory In Agent Fees Class Actions

Twice this year, Balch & Bingham reported on the wave of "Agent Fee" class actions against lenders who made PPP loans under the CARES Act. At one point, there were over sixty such lawsuits spread across the federal courts, alleging that banks were required to pay CPAs and others who assisted borrowers with loan applications.

Since then, eight different federal judges have now ruled in favor of the banks and dismissed Agent Fee class actions. These cases recognized "every court that has decided this issue has held that the CARES Act does not require lenders to pay agent fees absent an agreement to do so" and dismissed a myriad of federal and state law claims for fees. For the Agent Fee Plaintiffs, there is no end to these mounting losses in sight, and there is real reason to question whether these suits will continue.