SBA Petitions Federal Judge to Drop Lawsuit for Executive's Phone Records

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2009

Petaluma, Calif. – On April 16, 2009, the Small Business Administration (SBA) filed a motion in United States District Court, Northern District of California to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the American Small Business League (ASBL) for the telephone records of SBA Press Office Director Mike Stamler. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/motiondismissmpa.pdf)

The ASBL filed the case on March 13, 2009 after the SBA refused to provide all of Stamler's telephone records for the years 2006 and 2007. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/20090312complaint.pdf)

The ASBL originally requested all of Stamler's phone records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) after a number of journalists complained that Stamler had libeled and slandered ASBL President Lloyd Chapman. Chapman has won a series of federal lawsuits against the SBA forcing the agency to release thousands of pages of embarrassing information, which indicated the SBA was complicit in the diversion of billions in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.

Most recently, the SBA dropped an appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after United States District Court Judge Marilyn H. Patel forced the SBA to release the specific names of all of the firms that received federal small business contracts for fiscal years (FY) 2005 and 2006 to the ASBL. The list included the names of hundreds of Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses in the U.S. and Europe. On April 15, 2009, Patel directed the SBA to pay the ASBL's legal fees associated with the case. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/feeaward_sba_names_of_firms.pdf)

“In every lawsuit we have filed, the judge found the SBA was not being honest with the court and ruled in favor of the ASBL. There is a pattern here that cannot be denied. The SBA always loses, and the judge's ruling always indicates the agency was lying to the court. Clearly, the SBA must have a lot to hide,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said. “America is in one of the most severe recessions in our nation's history, and we may slide into a depression. Despite this, President Obama is allowing up to $400 million a day in federal small business contracts to be diverted away from middle class America, and into the hands of some of the largest companies in the world. It is time for President Obama to honor his campaign promise to American small businesses when he said, ‘It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.’ ” (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)

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