Miller v. Ellis CA4/3

FACTS

Miller owned two auto detailing businesses: Expert Automotive Reconditioning, Inc. (Expert Auto) and Dynamic Auto Images, Inc. (Dynamic Auto). Ellis claims Miller also controlled, but was not a direct owner of, two other business – Automotive Creations, Inc. (Automotive Creations) and Prestige Auto Specialists, Inc. (Prestige) – that he used to provide labor to Expert Auto and Dynamic Auto (we refer to all four businesses collectively as, the companies).2 Miller’s exact relationship to Automotive Creations and Prestige is immaterial to our analysis, so we will not examine his links to them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies all received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans from the federal government totaling about $4.9 million. The record indicates the loans for Expert Auto, Automotive Creations, and Dynamic Auto were approved in April and May

2 The record indicates Miller sold Dynamic Auto in July 2021 and retired. It is unclear whether he is still currently involved with any of the other companies.

3 2020, while Prestige’s loan was approved in February 2021. The loans for Automotive Creations, Expert Auto, and Dynamic were forgiven, while Prestige’s loan…