UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ W6 RESTAURANT GROUP, LTD et al., │ Plaintiffs-Appellants, │ > No. 24-3483 │ v. │ │ KELLY LOEFFLER et al., │ Defendants-Appellees. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland. No. 1:21-cv-02361—Bridget Meehan Brennan, District Judge.

Argued: March 18, 2025

Decided and Filed: June 9, 2025

Before: MOORE, KETHLEDGE, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges.

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COUNSEL ARGUED: Melissa Z. Kelly, TUCKER ELLIS LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellants. Jeffrey E. Sandberg, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Melissa Z. Kelly, Manju Gupta, TUCKER ELLIS LLP, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellants. Jeffrey E. Sandberg, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D.C., for Appellees. _________________

OPINION _________________

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. Fifteen Ohio and Florida restaurants and bars challenge the Small Business Administration’s operation of a COVID-19 relief program. No. 24-3483 W6 Restaurant Group, Ltd et al. v. Loeffler et al. Page 2

Whatever the merits of that challenge, it is now too late to grant any effectual relief. As the district court correctly held, this case is moot. We AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, following widespread government shutdowns, Congress enacted an array of grant programs to help small businesses survive. As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), Congress established a $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”) to support restaurants and bars. 15 U.S.C. § 9009c(a)(4), (b)(2)(A). Congress assigned the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to operate the program. Id. § 9009c(a)(1), (c)(1).

To qualify for funding, applicants needed to demonstrate that they were suffering pandemic-related revenue loss and that “the uncertainty of current economic conditions [made] necessary the grant request to support the ongoing operations” of the business. Id. § 9009c(a)(7), (c)(2)(A)(i). Grants could be used “[d]uring the covered period” for “expenses incurred as a direct result of, or during, the COVID-19 pandemic,” including payroll, rent, utilities, and sick leave. Id. § 9009c(c)(5). The covered period lasted from February 15, 2020, through March 11, 2023. See id. § 9009c(a)(3).1 If a grantee “fail[ed] to use all grant funds or permanently cease[d] operations on or before the last day of the covered period” the grantee was required to “return to the Treasury” any unexpended funds. Id. § 9009c(c)(6). Congress instructed the SBA to “award grants to eligible entities in the order in which applications are received.” Id. § 9009c(c)(1). One important exception applied: the statute instructed the SBA to give priority during the first twenty-one days to small businesses owned and controlled by women, veterans, or socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Id. § 9009(c)(3)(A).

The SBA began accepting grant