Strip Club Denied Preliminary Injunction in Battle Over Paycheck Protection Loan

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A New York federal judge has denied a strip club’s motion for a preliminary injunction, ruling that it is unlikely to prove that the Small Business Administration’s exclusion of adult-entertainment businesses from the CARES Act's Paycheck Protection Program violates its right to equal protection.

In a June 26 order, Judge Lawrence Vilardo of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York said it “is reasonable for the government to prioritize the best use of taxpayer funds in light of preexisting government policies and the public interest — including declining to spend taxpayer dollars to …