OHA Grants Appeal Finding SBA Misread a Stock Ledger

The appellant’s application for certification as a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business was denied because the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) found the appellant’s stock ledger indicated a veteran did not own the company. The appellant argued that SBA misread the stock ledger. OHA agreed that the stock ledger indicated the qualifying veteran owned all the shares at the time of application and granted the appeal.

• Appeal – SBA administratively removed the appellant’s application for certification as an SDVOSB. It found that the appellant did not satisfy the direct and unconditional ownership requirement because the provided stock ledger did not indicate all the shares were owned by a qualifying veteran. The appellant argued the denial was premised on SBA’s misreading of the appellant’s stock ledger.
• Decision – OHA found that when the appellant’s stock ledger was read correctly as one large document, it showed that the qualifying veteran was 100% owner of the appellant at the time of the application. Thus, OHA granted the appeal.

William Selinsky of Whitcomb, Selinsky, P.C. appeared for the appellant.

— Case summary by Joshua Lim, Assistant Editor