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Government Contracts
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March 07, 2024
CenturyLink Cut From Suit Blaming Utilities For Road Delays
The city of Sammamish, Washington, has quietly dropped CenturyLink from a state court lawsuit accusing it, Comcast and other companies of causing millions of dollars in roadwork delays by failing to move their infrastructure in a timely manner.
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March 07, 2024
Claims Court Backs VA Redo Of Eyewear Deal Over Errors
A Court of Federal Claims judge tossed an eyewear manufacturer's bid to be reinstated to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs optometry deal, saying the VA was allowed to cancel the award in light of calculation errors the agency made.
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March 07, 2024
Fed. Circ. Says IP License May Be Part Of Procurement Deal
The Federal Circuit on Wednesday revived a software developer's claims that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration misappropriated its data, saying the developer had sufficiently alleged it was party to a government contract that allowed lawsuits under the Contract Disputes Act.
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March 07, 2024
Conn. Psychologist Agrees To Repay $2.65M For Billing Fraud
A Connecticut psychologist already sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for his second alleged healthcare fraud scheme has agreed to a plan to repay $2.65 million in restitution under a proposed order that awaits approval from a federal judge.
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March 07, 2024
Monsanto, Seattle Spar Over Guardrails For Possible PCB Trial
Monsanto Co. and Seattle are wrangling over evidentiary matters in the city's suit over PCB pollution in the Lower Duwamish Waterway, with each side asking a Washington federal judge to impose limits for a possible trial that's currently set for September.
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March 06, 2024
Top Calif. Antitrust Atty Says Criminal Cases On The Horizon
California is poised to start prosecuting criminal antitrust cases under a Golden State law that is "broader" than federal law, a senior assistant attorney general for the California Department of Justice said Wednesday at a San Francisco conference.
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March 06, 2024
Garland On AI Crime, And A Taylor Swift Tune For DOJ
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday told a group of lawyers gathered in San Francisco that the U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up its hiring of computer scientists to fight artificial intelligence-driven crime and also revealed which Taylor Swift song he thought should be the department's anthem.
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March 06, 2024
Federal Lawmakers Want To Protect 172 Acres For Calif. Tribe
Legislation introduced by two U.S. senators would place 172 acres into trust for a California tribe in an effort to bring its members back to its reservation where they can develop a permanent home.
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March 06, 2024
Pa. Pharma Co. Cops To Adulterated-Drug Charges
A Pennsylvania generic drug manufacturer has pled guilty to federal charges that it sold adulterated drugs in the U.S. into interstate commerce and agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.
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March 06, 2024
DOJ Says Another Korean Co., Officer Behind Bid-Rig Scheme
A second South Korean company and its CEO allegedly defrauded the Pentagon in a scheme to rig bids and fix prices for subcontract work on U.S. military installations in South Korea, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
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March 06, 2024
Experts Urge 'Transformational' Change To DOD Budgeting
An expert panel urged the U.S. Department of Defense on Wednesday to make a "transformational change" to its budgeting and resource allocation processes, saying the DOD's current processes limit effective and timely responses to changing needs and technologies.
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March 06, 2024
Conn. Ex-Postmaster Gets 4 Years For Vehicle Repair Scheme
The former postmaster of Danbury, Connecticut, must serve four years in prison for using a town post office to run a bribery, kickback and embezzlement scheme that defrauded the government out of nearly $1 million for overpriced vehicle repairs and other illegitimate payments, a federal judge has ruled.
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March 06, 2024
House Votes To Require DHS Border Contract Reviews
A newly passed bill by the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to ensure accountability of federal contracts for operations and services along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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March 06, 2024
Feds Get More Time To Reply In Fla. Casinos Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the federal government a 30-day extension to reply to two Florida casino operators' petition for a writ of certiorari that seeks to reverse a decision that found a compact allowing online sports betting off tribal lands is lawful.
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March 06, 2024
Feds Pledge $72M For Tribes To Close Electrification Gaps
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said the Biden administration is awarding $72 million in a first round of funding to help Native American tribes electrify more homes in their communities.
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March 06, 2024
Sewer Deal Kept On Ice During Appeal In Philly Suburb's Ch. 9
A Philadelphia bankruptcy judge Wednesday rejected a utility's latest effort to lift the automatic stay triggered by the City of Chester's Chapter 9 bankruptcy, which has delayed a $276.5 million sewer sale, saying it would require her to answer questions that are on appeal from a similar motion she nixed last year.
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March 06, 2024
Founder Of Mayer Brown Gov't Contracts Practice Dies
Mayer Brown LLP is mourning the loss of the founder and chair of its government contracts practice, Marcia G. Madsen, who is being remembered as a formidable litigator and supportive role model to other attorneys.
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March 06, 2024
Chamber, Trade Groups Revamp Contractor Rule Challenge
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a slew of trade groups revamped their lawsuit in Texas federal court accusing the U.S. Department of Labor of violating federal law when it issued its latest independent contractor rule, alleging it tried to circumvent a court's earlier ruling.
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March 06, 2024
GEO Tries To Keep Immigration Site Inspection Suit In Fed Court
Private prison operator GEO Group argued this week that the Washington state labor department's lawsuit accusing GEO of unlawfully turning away inspectors from an immigrant detention facility should stay in federal court since GEO was merely following U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement instructions.
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March 06, 2024
Ex-Stimwave CEO Found Guilty Of Healthcare Fraud
A New York federal jury on Wednesday convicted the former CEO of Stimwave over allegations that the medical device maker sold an implant for chronic pain sufferers with a bogus component in order to drive up billings.
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March 05, 2024
Colo. Judge Mulls Chevron Deference In Tricare Funding Fight
A Colorado federal judge wondered Tuesday whether the U.S. Supreme Court's anticipated ruling on Chevron deference would affect a children's hospital's challenge to a Defense Department rule about healthcare reimbursements for military patients, asking the parties how she should rule while they wait for the Chevron decision.
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March 05, 2024
Utah Sues Feds To Reopen 195 Road Miles In San Rafael Desert
Utah is suing the U.S. government in a bid to toss a Bureau of Land Management decision to close 195 miles of roads in a San Rafael Desert area known as the Red Rock Wilderness, arguing that the closures don't align with an earlier BLM plan.
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March 05, 2024
Fed. Circ. Doubts Whether Atty Fee Suit Has Legs
The Federal Circuit didn't seem convinced Tuesday morning that a U.S. Court of Federal Claims order overturning an attorney fee award was even ripe for appeal, but by the end of oral arguments, the panel's ire was drawn toward an eleventh-hour challenge to jurisdiction.
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March 05, 2024
Claims Court Won't Block Radio Deliveries Bought Under Nixed Deal
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims refused to block the U.S. Navy from receiving radio management systems development work that was completed before it canceled the underlying contract, saying official actions after the contract's termination were outside its purview.
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March 05, 2024
Suncor Says Doubts About Colo. Monitoring Deal 'Misplaced'
Suncor Energy has urged a Colorado state judge to approve its settlement with Colorado environmental regulators over emissions monitoring around its refinery near Denver, arguing environmental groups have raised vague and "misplaced" concerns about the deal but offered no concrete objections.
Expert Analysis
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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NEPA Reforms May Aid Project Speed, But Red Tape Remains
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 included amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act that are designed to streamline the federal environmental review process for infrastructure projects, but coordination with agencies and early stakeholder engagement are still likelier to lead to successful outcomes than time and page limits, say Jena Maclean and Stephanie Regenold at Perkins Coie.
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4th Circ. Ruling Outlines Defense Against Retaliation Claims
The Fourth Circuit's surprising decision in Johnson v. Global Language Center eschewed the low standard typically applied to demonstrating protected activities under Title VII and could affect internal complaint processes and the retaliation defenses available to employers, say Tory Summey and Zack Anstett at Parker Poe.
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An Overview Of OFCCP's Religious-Exemption Reset
The recent rescission of a Trump-era rule that gave government contractors broader latitude under federal anti-discrimination rules doesn't prohibit employment decisions based on religious faith, but clarifies the factors a company must consider when seeking a religious exemption, say Zev Grumet-Morris and Christopher Durham at Duane Morris.
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High Court Underscores DOJ's Role In Policing FCA Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Polansky v. Executive Health Resources reaffirms that the government has final say in False Claims Act cases, allowing for meaningful guardrails that deter private litigators from seeking to regulate industries that Congress has delegated to expert administrative agencies, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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5 Management Tips To Keep Law Firm Merger Talks Moving
Many law firm mergers that make solid business sense still fall apart due to the costs and frustrations of inefficient negotiations, but firm managers can increase the chance of success by effectively planning and executing merger discussions, say Lisa Smith and Kristin Stark at Fairfax Associates.
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What NIH's New Grant Guidance Means For Awardees
New guidance from the National Institutes of Health tightens grant requirements for international subawards, necessarily increasing accountability of foreign subrecipients and increasing the importance of prime awardees' efforts to plan carefully and educate key personnel, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Broader Implications Of High Court's Identity Theft Law Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dubin v. U.S., vacating a medical services biller’s aggravated identity theft conviction, endorses a restrained interpretive approach for practitioners dealing with ambiguous criminal statutes, and serves as a warning to prosecutors, say Gabrielle Friedman and Zachary Shemtob at Lankler Siffert.
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Rethinking In-Office Attendance For Associate Retention
The hybrid office attendance model doesn't work for all employees, but it does for many — and balancing these two groups is important for associate retention and maintaining a BigLaw firm culture that supports all attorneys, says Summer Eberhard at Major Lindsey.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Timeliness, Discovery, Registration Gap
In this month's bid protest roundup, Michaela Thornton at MoFo examines recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office that consider the timeliness of a protest filing, discovery beyond the administrative record and a lapse in System for Award Management registration.
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FCA Liability Lessons From HHS Psychotherapy Audit
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' recent finding of improper Medicare payments for psychotherapy services provided in 2020-2021 might inspire whistleblowers to pursue allegations under the federal False Claims Act, but there are reasons to be skeptical of converting these audit results into expansive FCA liability, say attorneys at Sidley.
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High Court Ruling Wouldn't Change Federal Affirmative Action
If the U.S. Supreme Court's eventual decision in two cases concerning affirmative action indicates that using race or ethnicity as a factor in college admissions is illegal, it would align with how the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs already enforces nondiscrimination regulations for government contractor hiring, say Joanna Colosimo and Evan Szarenski at DCI Consulting.
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Murdaugh Trials Offer Law Firms Fraud Prevention Reminders
As the fraud case against Alex Murdaugh continues to play out, the evidence and narrative presented at his murder trial earlier this year may provide lessons for law firms on implementing robust internal controls that can detect and prevent similar kinds of fraud, say Travis Casner and Helga Zauner at Weaver and Tidwell.
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COVID Fraud Crackdown Should Prompt Compliance Review
Recent federal actions against businesses that allegedly perpetrated pandemic-related fraud show why health care providers should confirm that all COVID-19 relief funds were obtained in accordance with contemporary guidance and move to repair any potential compliance breaches, say Anthony Burba and Megha Mathur at Barnes & Thornburg.
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Firm Tips For Helping New Lawyers Succeed Post-Pandemic
Ten steps can help firms significantly enhance the experience of attorneys who started their careers in the coronavirus pandemic era, including facilitating opportunities for cross-firm connection, which can ultimately help build momentum for business development, says Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners.