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Government Contracts
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May 13, 2013
Physicians Seek Supreme Court's Take On $43M Fraud Ruling
Two physicians have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on their criminal Medicare fraud case, saying although the Fifth Circuit nixed a $43 million judgment against them, it failed to reimburse them for claims that the federal government inappropriately argued were medically unnecessary.
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May 13, 2013
Kaplan Faces FCA Suit Over Playground Construction Wages
A qui tam complaint unsealed Friday accuses Kaplan Early Learning Co. of defrauding the government by failing to pay federally mandated employee wages on more than 200 playground construction contracts funded by Head Start programs.
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May 13, 2013
Kmart Allowed To Subpoena FCA Whistleblower’s Records
An Illinois federal judge refused Monday to quash a subpoena for the employment records of a Kmart Corp. pharmacist who claims the company violated false claims and anti-kickback laws by offering discounts to Medicare and other prescription drug customers, finding the subpoena isn’t meant to harass.
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May 13, 2013
Alliant Drops $315M On Rifle, Shotgun Giant
Aerospace and defense contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. said Monday that it will pay $315 million for private equity-owned Caliber Co., the parent company of one of the world's largest manufacturers of hunting rifles and shotguns.
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May 13, 2013
Ranbaxy Pays Record $500M To End Tainted Drug Claims
Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. will pay $350 million to settle a Maryland whistleblower False Claims Act suit over selling allegedly adulterated drugs to several government health care programs, plus an additional $150 million after pleading guilty to related felony charges, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
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May 13, 2013
Jones Day Adds Gov't Contracts Pro From Dickstein Shapiro
Jones Day has bolstered its government regulation practice by hiring a former Dickstein Shapiro LLP partner who also has experience as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, it said Monday.
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May 10, 2013
Aegis, Other Rehab Clinics Want Medicare FCA Suit Trimmed
Aegis Therapies Inc. and several related rehabilitation therapy companies on Friday asked a Georgia federal judge to dismiss all federal government claims in a whistleblower False Claims Act suit accusing them of overbilling Medicare, arguing the allegations aren’t supported by law.
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May 10, 2013
Ex-UCLA Prof Cops To DARPA Nanotech Fraud
A former University of California, Los Angeles, physics professor agreed Thursday to plead guilty to charges that he defrauded the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency by faking bills for nanotechnology research, a crime that will cost him nearly $1.7 million in penalties.
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May 10, 2013
Contractor Group Opposes Cybersecurity Research Nonprofit
A contractor trade group said Thursday that it won't support the National Institute of Standards and Technology's plan to create a Federally Funded Research and Development Center for cybersecurity, saying the institute risks establishing a redundant organization that will unfairly benefit from noncompetitive research funding.
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May 10, 2013
State Farm Attacks Post-Katrina Gov't Fraud Verdict
State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. recently challenged a Mississippi federal jury's verdict finding it committed fraud against the federal flood insurance program following Hurricane Katrina, while two whistleblowers seized on the victory to fight for a significant expansion of their False Claims Act suit.
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May 10, 2013
Ban On Chinese IT Creates Contracting Headaches
Federal contractors are raising concerns about recent legislation that bans some agencies from acquiring information technology systems that are even tenuously connected to Chinese state-controlled companies, a mandate they say is so broad and poorly defined that it could force the government away from commercial contractors entirely.
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May 10, 2013
Markey Says BP's Federal Contract Ban Should Stay In Place
A leading House Democrat said Friday that BP PLC hasn't turned over information detailing how it misled Congress about the amount of oil released during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and urged regulators to keep the company's federal contracts ban in place until it adequately responds.
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May 10, 2013
Medco Sanctions Stand In Whistleblowers' $69M Medicare Suit
A Florida federal judge on Friday denied an appeal of sanctions a magistrate judge levied on Medco Health Solutions Inc. for late document production in a False Claims Act suit brought by employee whistleblowers accusing it of hiding $69 million in Medicare and Medicaid overpayments, saying the order was legally sound.
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May 10, 2013
Florida College Loses Bid To Toss FCA Suit Over Recruiting
A federal judge on Thursday declined to toss a False Claims Act whistleblower suit accusing a Florida college of illegally providing incentive payments or bonuses to recruiters based on recruiting activities, finding the plaintiffs had adequately pled most of their claims.
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May 10, 2013
GAO Sides With Protest Of Nuclear Weapons Security Contract
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has partly sustained two companies’ protests of a $23 billion government contract awarded to Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC for maintenance and protection of the nation's nuclear weapons, according to a decision made public Thursday.
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May 9, 2013
DOE Breached Oil Field Division Deal With Chevron, CFC Says
Chevron Corp. won a long-running suit seeking costs incurred during allegedly tainted negotiations over a jointly operated California oil field on Thursday after the U.S. Court of Federal Claims found that the U.S. Department of Energy breached its contracts with the oil giant.
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May 9, 2013
IntraLinks Can't Dodge Shareholder Suit Over FDIC Contract
A New York federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss a consolidated shareholder class action alleging top executives at cloud computing company IntraLinks Holdings Inc. misled investors about the probable loss of a contract with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
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May 9, 2013
Fed. Circ. Rejects General Dynamics' Pension Calculations
The Federal Circuit on Thursday determined that a method used by General Dynamics Corp. for 25 years to calculate how it charges the government for incurred pension costs under contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense violates federal accounting standards.
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May 9, 2013
Hospital Billed Medicare $39M In False Claims, Jury Finds
A South Carolina hospital system defrauded Medicare to the tune of $39 million by submitting false claims for services provided under referrals from doctors with whom it had financial ties, a federal jury decided Wednesday in a case brought to light by a physician whistleblower.
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May 9, 2013
Contractor Wins Back VA Small Biz Status In $25M Fight
A federal judge on Thursday said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs was wrong to take away a contractor's veteran-owned small business designation after it won a $25 million project bid, and ordered the status reinstated.
Expert Analysis
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Lance Armstrong’s FCA Woes: 3 Lessons For Contractors
The False Claims Act suit against Lance Armstrong is hardly a typical FCA case, given Armstrong’s celebrity status, the lurid allegations of the complaint and the very public way in which the scandal has unfolded. But it reflects a broader truth — government contractors are now operating in a time of unprecedented enforcement risk, say Steve Shaw and Mike Wagner of Covington & Burling LLP.
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Sequestration And The Sovereign Acts Doctrine
With all the talk about sequestration, we've been thinking — aren’t the sequester and a government shutdown “sovereign acts” for which the government bears no liability? A sequester-driven shutdown may be protected under the sovereign acts doctrine, but that won't protect the government from promises made in its contracts, say attorneys with Brown Rudnick LLP.
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7 Reasons To Do Pro Bono Work
Research shows that helping others and cultivating social relationships makes us happier and that generous people live longer, healthier lives. These are just a few of the countless reasons to create time in our busy schedules to do pro bono and charitable work this year, says Anne Brafford of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP.
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A Win-Win For Military Bases And Local Governments
Section 331 of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act permits the military services to enter into intergovernmental support agreements with state and local governments for the provision of installation support services. The law presents the potential for long-term cost savings for both parties, say attorneys with McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP.
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Inside The NDAA's Small Business Provisions
A thorough understanding of the small business provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 will enable small business contractors and subcontractors to fully capitalize on potential and existing contracting opportunities, and steer clear of potential pitfalls, say attorneys with Clark Hill PLC.
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What Litigators Must Know About Va.’s 'Rocket Docket'
Do not be lulled into a false sense of complacency by the formality, civility and, in some cases, old-fashioned Southern charm of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Cases usually move with lightning speed, handled by efficient, polite, but no-nonsense jurists and courtroom deputies. There are many traps for the unwary, say Robert Tata and Wendy McGraw of Hunton & Williams LLP.
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Calif. FCA Ruling Could Impact Federal FCA Cases
If the reasoning in a recent California False Claims Act decision — Contreras v. First Student Inc. — is extended to its logical conclusion, it would mean that qui tam plaintiffs and their attorneys could routinely contact the employees of defendants in state or federal FCA matters without the defendants’ consent or knowledge, say attorneys with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.
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Learning The Sequestration Tango
For federal contractors, the implementation of sequestration will be an intricate dance involving many stakeholders and much discretion. To have any influence on outcomes, contractors must learn to dance their part, which requires understanding the processes, tools and resources they can use to manage the risks created by sequestration, say Terry Elling and David Black of Holland & Knight LLP.
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Skilled Care Providers, Take Note Of Jimmo V. Sebelius
Recently, the U.S District Court for the District of Vermont approved a settlement agreement in the Medicare improvement standard case, Jimmo v. Sebelius. In addition to its impact on Medicare reimbursement, the settlement agreement marks a significant change in the standard for determining eligibility for Medicare coverage of skilled maintenance care, say attorneys with K&L Gates LLP.
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Why You Should Talk To Your Suspension Debarment Official
When I see news articles about allegations of procurement fraud or the settlement of a False Claims Act suit, I desperately want to reach out to the named contractor or its counsel and ask, “Have you engaged with your agency suspension debarment official yet?” Early engagement with the SDO is often the contractor’s best insurance against unexpected events, says Todd Canni of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP.