Case Name: Nuziard et al. v. Minority Business Development Agency

Type of Case: Equality Under the Law

Court: Federal Court in the Northern District of Texas

Filed On: March 21, 2023

Current Status: Filed in Federal Court in the Northern District of Texas on March 21, 2023

The Lawsuit: WILL’s lawsuit challenges the Minority Business Development Agency, which was enacted into law through the 2021 Infrastructure Act. This is the first time the federal government has created an agency devoted to helping some races, but not others. The lawsuit alleges that the new agency violates the Equal Protection Doctrine, which guarantees that all individuals must be treated equally, without regard to race.

Additional Background: WILL, through its Equality Under the Law Project, has taken aim at various programs at the heart of Biden’s Racial Equity Agenda.” WILL previously sued the Biden Administration for its Farmer Loan-Forgiveness program, which cancelled certain farm loans based on race, and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which provided COVID benefits to certain restaurants with a racial preference. WILL obtained the first nationwide injunctions against both of those programs. WILL is also challenging another portion of the 2021 Infrastructure Act, which sets aside $37 billion in federal contracts to certain small businesses based on race.

More about WILL’s Equality Under the Law Project can be found here: DefendEquality.org.

CASE DOCUMENT

• Complaint, March, 21, 2023