Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Government Contracts
-
April 05, 2024
Contractor Settles Naturalized Citizen's Hiring Bias Claims
A federal contractor settled claims that it slammed the brakes on hiring a naturalized citizen after finding out that she was not born in the U.S., the U.S. Department of Justice said.
-
April 04, 2024
Secret Service Defeats Protest of $4.1M Janitorial Deal
The U.S. Secret Service has survived a contractor's protest of a $4.13 million deal to provide janitorial work at the agency's Maryland training facility when the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled the agency adequately probed allegations of procurement integrity violations.
-
April 04, 2024
Peters Proposes Bills To Boost Federal Contracting Efficiency
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., has introduced a pair of bipartisan bills intended to improve federal contracting, one aimed at increasing competition and making greater use of commercial items, the other requiring agencies to track the practical value they receive from contracts.
-
April 04, 2024
Claims Court Backs Defense Health Agency $31M IT Deal Pick
A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge denied an information technology contractor's protest of a $31 million IT deal the Defense Health Agency awarded to a competitor, saying he found nothing wrong with how the agency evaluated the contractors' proposals.
-
April 04, 2024
Ginnie Mae, HUD Must Face Bank's Vacated Lien Suit
A Texas federal judge trimmed but declined to dismiss Texas Capital Bank's suit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and its Government National Mortgage Association program over a vacated loan lien that the bank says was worth tens of millions of dollars.
-
April 04, 2024
GAO Says Navy Awardee Ineligible Due To Registration Lapse
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has backed a protest over a nearly $5 million Navy custodial services contract, saying the awardee's attempt to re-register in a federal contractor database ahead of expiry didn't excuse a breach of a continuous registration requirement.
-
April 03, 2024
We Had No Conflict In Postal Service Bid, Co. Tells Fed Circ.
A company excluded from a U.S. Postal Service explosives detection contract told the Federal Circuit on Wednesday that a claims court judge hadn't justified his ruling that a conflict of interest stemming from the company's previous work for the service couldn't be mitigated.
-
April 03, 2024
US Escapes $7.5M Demand For Bomb-Sniffing K9s In Kabul
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has tossed a non-governmental organization's lawsuit seeking $7.5 million from the U.S. government for K9 bomb-sniffing work in an area of Afghanistan that housed foreign embassies, saying the government never agreed to guarantee payment.
-
April 03, 2024
Insurer Wants $38M For Covering Unfinished Road Jobs
An insurance company has asked a federal court to force companies connected to an insolvent contractor to hand over more than $38 million to compensate for costs it covered for unfinished jobs.
-
April 03, 2024
Fed. Circ. Struggles With Ambiguity In $14M Army Corps Row
Federal Circuit judges struggled Wednesday to understand ambiguous terms in a company's contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for post-hurricane power restoration, indicating that neither party had clearly explained if the contractor has a valid $14 million claim for additional work needed.
-
April 03, 2024
Groups Fight DOL's Bid To Toss Suit Challenging Wage Rule
A pair of construction industry trade groups urged a Texas federal court to preserve their challenge to a U.S. Department of Labor rule that revises prevailing wage calculations for federally funded projects, arguing that the rule injures both them and the firms they represent.
-
April 03, 2024
3rd Circ. Judge Wonders If Philly Union Rule Dispute Is Moot
A Third Circuit judge on Wednesday wondered whether a former Philadelphia mayor's order requiring contractors to pay dues to "city-approved" unions was now moot, given the new administration's assurances that it won't be implemented, as contractors urged the court to find that the scrapped rule should be banned by law.
-
April 03, 2024
Enviro Group Sues DOE Over $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award
Environmental group Friends of the Earth slapped the U.S. Department of Energy with a complaint in California federal court seeking to unravel the agency's $1.1 billion award for the continued operation of the state's last remaining nuclear power plant.
-
April 03, 2024
14 AGs Urge DOL To Seek More Payroll Info From Contractors
Contractors performing construction, alteration or repair work on government buildings should have to give the U.S. Department of Labor more detailed information about the deductions they take from workers' wages, a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general told the agency in a letter publicized Wednesday.
-
April 03, 2024
Beekeeper Groups Seek Fees From EPA After 9th Circ. Appeal
Attorneys for beekeeper groups in an appeal over a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision on insecticides have asked the Ninth Circuit to award nearly $750,000 in legal fees after a ruling that hammered the EPA but left the agency's decision intact.
-
April 03, 2024
Pharma Exec, Cousin Cop To Insider Trading On Kodak Loan
A pharmaceutical company's executive and his cousin on Wednesday pled guilty to trading on information they acquired through the company's partnership with Eastman Kodak Co. about a government loan the photography giant was set to receive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-
April 03, 2024
Skanska Inks $1.4B Contract To Replace Seattle Bridge
Skanska and Washington's Department of Transportation closed a $1.4 billion bridge replacement contract that aims to update Seattle's Portage Bay Bridge so that it's up to "current seismic resiliency standards," the construction and development company announced.
-
April 03, 2024
Fed. Circ. Backs Firing IRS Agent Who Golfed On Agency Time
A former senior appraiser for the Internal Revenue Service was appropriately fired for golfing on company time, a federal appeals court affirmed Wednesday.
-
April 02, 2024
Feds Want 2 Years For Culprit In Fake NASA Contracts Plot
Prosecutors urged a Virginia federal judge to sentence a Michigan man to 25 months in prison Tuesday after he admitted to defrauding investors through fake NASA contracts, seeking a sentence lighter than the guideline range because he spent eight grueling months in a Philippines detention center before he was in U.S. custody.
-
April 02, 2024
IT Firm Decries Commerce's 'Unilateral' $1.5B Award Redo
An IT consulting firm told the Federal Circuit on Monday that its right to challenge a $1.5 billion U.S. Commerce Department procurement in the claims court was undermined when the agency took corrective action before seeking permission from the court.
-
April 02, 2024
Crowell & Moring Attys Avoid Bias Fault In Army Deal Protest
The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a Virginia-based defense contractor's protest of a $192.7 million U.S. Army technical and engineering support deal but refused to fault Crowell & Moring LLP attorneys for representing the contractor despite conflict of interest allegations.
-
April 02, 2024
Ga. Judge Tosses Ex-Police Chief's Retaliation Suit
A Georgia federal judge has freed the city of Austell from a lawsuit brought against it by its former police chief, who alleged that he was forced out of his job after three years of raising concerns about the safety of department facilities.
-
April 02, 2024
Casino Outfits Say High Court Must Review Tribal Betting Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court is the correct venue for a case by two casino operators that seek to undo a tribal gaming compact in Florida now that the state's Supreme Court has refused to take up the case, one of the companies has told the nation's highest court.
-
April 02, 2024
Ally Of NYC Mayor Skirts Prison In Straw Donor Case
A friend and former colleague of New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday was spared any time in prison following his admission to conspiring to use straw donors to juice the public funding of the mayor's 2021 campaign.
-
April 02, 2024
Conn. Dentists Used Illegal Patient Recruiting, Suit Says
Federal and state authorities filed a kickback and false claims lawsuit in Connecticut federal court on Tuesday against two dental practices in the state and their co-owners for allegedly paying a patient recruiter to generate business through Medicaid.
Expert Analysis
-
HHS Neuromonitoring Advisory May Have Broad Relevance
The Health Department Office of Inspector General's recent advisory opinion rejecting a neuromonitoring service's proposal for a shell arrangement isn't surprising, but it could be a harbinger of more warnings against problematic joint venture arrangements to come, says Mary Kohler at Kohler Health Law.
-
The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.
-
The Pros And Cons Of The Senate's DOD Data Rights Plan
The Senate's latest defense spending bill stands to benefit big business by clarifying that the government should not automatically obtain unlimited rights in certain contractor data, but the reduction of other protections elsewhere may put small businesses at risk, say Tyler Evans and Anna Menzel at Steptoe & Johnson.
-
A Look At The Tribal Health Reimbursements Circuit Split
A circuit split regarding whether Native American tribes are entitled to contract support costs on health care services paid by third-party revenues sets the stage for potential review by the U.S. Supreme Court, and could result in the Indian Health Service paying hundreds of millions more in much-needed funding to tribal health programs, say Geoffrey Strommer and Steve Osborne at Hobbs Straus.
-
SBA 8(a) Contractors Must Prepare To Reestablish Eligibility
A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Ultima Services v. U.S. Department of Agriculture has massive implications for the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program, whose participants will soon need to reestablish their status as socially disadvantaged, say Edward DeLisle and Andrés Vera at Thompson Hine.
-
To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
-
What Circuit Split May Mean For FCA Kickback Liability
The recent circuit split on the meaning of the resulting-from provision in False Claims Act kickback cases could have significant ramifications for FCA liability, as it could affect the standard of causation that plaintiffs must meet to establish liability, say former federal prosecutors Li Yu, Ellen London and Gregg Shapiro.
-
Gov't Contract Billing Lessons From Booz Allen Settlement
Allegations that contractor Booz Allen spent a decade improperly billing indirect costs to the government, recently highlighted in a $377 million settlement, offer pointed lessons for businesses on how to address False Claims Act concerns, and for federal investigators on how to identify highly technical accounting discrepancies in real time, says Denise Barnes at Honigman.
-
Perspectives
More States Should Join Effort To Close Legal Services Gap
Colorado is the most recent state to allow other types of legal providers, not just attorneys, to offer specific services in certain circumstances — and more states should rethink the century-old assumptions that shape our current regulatory rules, say Natalie Anne Knowlton and Janet Drobinske at the University of Denver.
-
Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure
Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.
-
Bid Protest Spotlight: Personnel Loss, Conflicts, Timeliness
In this month's bid protest roundup, Locke Bell at MoFo highlights recent decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, addressing an offeror's loss of key personnel, organizational conflicts of interest arising out of reliance on former government employees in preparing a bid, and protest timeliness when no debriefing is required.
-
9th Circ. Ruling Shows Int'l Arbitration Jurisdictional Snags
While the Ninth Circuit sidestepped the thorny and undecided constitutional question of whether a foreign state is a person for the purposes of a due process analysis, its Devas v. Antrix opinion provides important guidance to parties seeking to enforce an arbitration award against a foreign sovereign in the U.S., say attorneys at Wiley.
-
Conn. Ruling Highlights Keys To Certificate-Of-Need Appeals
The Connecticut Supreme Court's recent decision in High Watch Recovery Center v. Department of Public Health, rejecting rigid application of statutes concerning certificate-of-need procedure, provides important guidance on building an administrative record to support a finding that a case is contested, say attorneys at Robinson & Cole.
-
Opinion
Congress Needs Better Health Care Fraud Data From DOD
The U.S. Department of Defense does not collect enough data to prevent health care and service contractor fraud and waste, so Congress should enact benchmarks that the DOD must meet when gathering and reporting data, enabling lawmakers to make better-informed decisions about defense appropriations, says Jessica Lehman at Verizon.
-
Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'
Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.