NEW ORLEANS – The owners of a New Orleans retail store are seeking a judicial review after they allege they were improperly disqualified from accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits from customers.
Asad Esmail, Kawthar Esmail and Chippewa Food Store filed a complaint on May 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against United States of America requesting a judicial review and citing violation of substantive due process rights.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that on Dec. 22, 2015, they were permanently disqualified from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for an alleged series of violations on the part of the plaintiffs in their acceptance of SNAP benefits from participants and immediately lost 80 percent of their gross revenue. The plaintiffs hold the United States of America responsible because the defendant allegedly denied the plaintiff's appeal. The suit states they request a judicial review of the disqualification.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against the defendant for improperly permanently disqualifying them, as well as awarding them the costs incurred in this action. They are represented by Joseph E. Lee III of Frilot LLC in New Orleans and Andrew Z. Tapp of Brandon Legal Group PLLC in Tampa, Florida.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-03001