Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Government Contracts
-
May 29, 2024
Whistleblower Counsel Can't Get 'Exorbitant' $11.5M Fee
A Boston federal judge slashed an "exorbitant" $11.5 million fee request made by counsel for a False Claims Act whistleblower in a case involving lab testing company Fresenius Medical Care, hammering the attorneys for inflated hourly rates, inflated time entries and a host of questionable billing practices.
-
May 28, 2024
Orsted Inks $125M Deal With NJ Over Scrapped Wind Farms
Orsted, a Danish wind energy company, has agreed to pay New Jersey $125 million to settle claims over the company's abrupt cancellation last fall of two offshore wind farms.
-
May 28, 2024
White House Looks To Boost Carbon Credit Market Integrity
The Biden administration on Tuesday released new guidelines for voluntary carbon markets, touting the measures as a foundation for "ambitious and credible climate action" that also attempts to address questions about the integrity of credits that companies use to show a greener footprint.
-
May 28, 2024
States, Greens Want Judgment Over USPS' New Vehicle Plan
Environmentalists and a coalition of 17 states called on a California federal judge to grant them judgment in litigation alleging the U.S. Postal Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it decided to replace its aging delivery fleet with "gas-guzzling vehicles."
-
May 28, 2024
GSA Audit Authority Ruling Bars Crowley Suit Over DOD Deal
A Court of Federal Claims judge has rejected Crowley Government Services Inc.'s protest over the terms of a U.S. Transportation Command solicitation for freight services, saying the company effectively attempted to relitigate an already decided dispute over the General Services Administration's audit authority.
-
May 28, 2024
Conn. Judge Asks If 'Sham' Exception Saves Stadium Fight
A Connecticut appellate judge asked Tuesday if a "sham" exception to limits on government contracting lawsuits can restore claims that the city of Hartford ran a fake bidding process for the redevelopment of Dillon Stadium, but counsel for several defendants pushed back and said it would not apply to the facts of the case.
-
May 28, 2024
$3.1B Satellite Deal Needs Justices' Review, Co. Says
A broker accusing Lockheed Martin and Airbus of cutting it from a $3.1 billion military satellite deal opposed the Biden administration's contention that a U.S. Supreme Court review isn't needed, saying the administration incorrectly focused on an underlying F-35 deal.
-
May 28, 2024
Mich. Atty Can't Have Dominion Info, Pa. Court Told
Dominion Voting Systems told a Pennsylvania state court Tuesday that information copied from election machines as part of a county's fraud probe was "fruit of the poisonous tree" and can't be shared with a Michigan attorney who has been in hot water for allegedly accessing other states' machine data and releasing the privileged information.
-
May 24, 2024
SEC Hits Back At SolarWinds' 'Distortion' Allegations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent a letter to a New York federal judge Friday pushing back on SolarWinds Corp.'s accusations that it was overstating and distorting its case against the government contractor over a data hack, saying its complaint is "well-grounded in facts" uncovered during its investigation.
-
May 24, 2024
Claims Court Won't Toss $1.1M Breach Suit Against Navy
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims won't free the U.S. Navy from a $1.1 million breach-of-contract case from an engineering contractor, saying its handling of indirect and billing rates potentially amounted to a breach.
-
May 24, 2024
Contractor Entitled To Share In Navy Savings, Board Rules
The U.S. Navy must share with a construction contractor savings resulting from the contractor's changes to a design-build task order, after the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ruled the Navy constructively accepted the contractor's proposal for the money-saving changes.
-
May 24, 2024
HNTB's Liability Capped In Seattle Tunnel Delay Claim
A contract clause caps engineering firm HNTB Corp.'s potential liability over a long-delayed Seattle highway tunnel project, a Washington state court judge ruled Friday, likely dashing a joint venture's bid to recover more than $700 million.
-
May 24, 2024
Staff Squeeze May Be Limiting Small Biz Roles In Procurement
The federal government has introduced several strategies over the last decade to help small businesses vie for procurement contracts, but overstretched acquisition staff may have limited capacity to deploy these strategies and reverse a downward trend in small business participation.
-
May 24, 2024
Green Groups Lose In California Fish Protection Lawsuit
The federal government properly considered the needs of fish protected under the Endangered Species Act when it approved water supply contracts for California's Central Valley Project, the Ninth Circuit said in a ruling rejecting environmental groups' claims to the contrary.
-
May 24, 2024
Navy Owes Crane Contractor $5M After Refusing Proposed Fix
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ruled that the U.S. Navy must pay a Konecranes ABP unit roughly $4.9 million after the Navy wrongly refused to accept a proposed fix for problems discovered before delivery of a crane.
-
May 24, 2024
Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List
President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.
-
May 24, 2024
Union Carbide To Pay EPA $600K For Colo. Superfund Site
Union Carbide Corp. and the federal government filed a $600,000 proposed settlement in Colorado federal court, resolving claims the company and its subsidiary owed more than $1.2 million in reimbursement costs connected to the cleanup of hazardous chemicals at a former uranium and vanadium processing facility.
-
May 24, 2024
Biden Urges 1st Circ. To Find Debt Cap Challenge Moot
The Biden administration asked the First Circuit to affirm a finding that a government workers' union lacks standing to challenge the debt ceiling's constitutionality and that its case was further rendered moot by passage of a deal to suspend the spending limit until January.
-
May 24, 2024
CFPB Seeks $20M Penalty For Inaccurate Loan Data
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged a Florida federal court to hit Freedom Mortgage with a $20 million civil penalty for allegedly submitting error-filled government mortgage loan data.
-
May 24, 2024
Insurer Owes Coverage For School Defect Claim, Builder Says
A general contractor told a Washington federal court it is entitled to coverage under a subcontractor's commercial general liability policy with a Liberty Mutual unit for defects and damage that a school district alleges was caused by the subcontractor while working on a school expansion project.
-
May 23, 2024
Feds Ask 5th Circ. To Weigh Highway GHG Rule Vacatur
The Biden administration has asked the Fifth Circuit to review a Texas district court's recent decision vacating a Federal Highway Administration rule that would've required states to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federally funded highway projects.
-
May 23, 2024
Joint Venture Says Defense Agency Errors Thwarted Contract
An Alabama joint venture hauled the U.S. government into the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging it was shut out of a Missile Defense Agency deal due to multiple errors the agency made when assessing the joint venture.
-
May 23, 2024
NJ Justices Toss Direct Appeals Over Hospital Contract Bid
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday that an independent state-owned teaching hospital's conduct cannot be challenged directly in the state's intermediate appellate court because it isn't considered an administrative agency, affirming the dismissal of two protests over the hospital's selection of a pharmacy vendor.
-
May 23, 2024
Bell, Boeing Face Suit Over Marines Killed In Osprey Crash
The families of four of the five marines killed in the June 2022 crash of an Osprey V-22 aircraft sued Bell Textron Inc., The Boeing Co. and Rolls-Royce Corp. Thursday in California federal court, alleging defects in the aircraft led to the fatal crash.
-
May 23, 2024
Lockheed Urges 11th Circ. To Affirm Win In Solvent Suit
Lockheed Martin Corp. asked the Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday to uphold a Florida district court's rejection of a proposed expert's testimony purporting to link a now-deceased former employee's multiple sclerosis to her work-related exposure to industrial solvents.
Expert Analysis
-
Bid Protest Spotlight: Nonprecedential, Unreasonable, Scope
James Tucker at MoFo examines three recent decisions showing that while the results of past competitions may inform bid strategy, they are not determinative; that an agency's award may be deemed unreasonable if it ignores available information; and that a protester may be right about an awardee's noncompliance but still lose.
-
Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown
While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.
-
Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
-
Preparing For Possible Calif. Criminal Antitrust Enforcement
Though a recent announcement that the California Attorney General's Office will resume criminal prosecutions in support of its antitrust enforcement may be mere saber-rattling, companies and their counsel should nevertheless be prepared for interactions with the California AG's Antitrust Section that are not limited to civil liability issues, say Dylan Ballard and Lillian Sun at V&E.
-
Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
-
Direct Claims Ruling May Alter Gov't Ties To Software Firms
A recent Federal Circuit decision allowing a software developer to pursue legal action under the Contract Disputes Act could change the government's relationship with commercial software providers by permitting direct claims, even in third-party purchase situations, say Dan Ramish and Zach Prince at Haynes Boone.
-
Contract Disputes Recap: Facts Differ But Same Rules Apply
Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine two decisions illustrating that reliance on a technicality may not save an otherwise untimely appeal, and that enforcement of commercial terms and conditions under a federal supply schedule contract may be possible.
-
Series
Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.
-
Draft Pay Equity Rule May Pose Contractor Compliance Snags
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed rule that would prohibit government contractors from requesting certain job applicants' salary history seems simple on the surface, but achieving compliance will be a nuanced affair for many contractors who must also adhere to state and local pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
-
10 Areas To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting Law
The near future holds a number of key areas to watch in aerospace and defense contracting law, ranging from dramatic developments in the space industry to recent National Defense Authorization Act updates, which are focused on U.S. leadership in emerging technologies, say Joseph Berger and Chip Purcell at Thompson Hine.
-
Opinion
Judicial Independence Is Imperative This Election Year
As the next election nears, the judges involved in the upcoming trials against former President Donald Trump increasingly face political pressures and threats of violence — revealing the urgent need to safeguard judicial independence and uphold the rule of law, says Benes Aldana at the National Judicial College.
-
Opinion
NIST March-In Framework Is As Problematic As 2021 Proposal
While the National Institute of Standards and Technology's proposed march-in framework on when the government can seize patents has been regarded as a radical departure that will support lowering prescription drug costs, the language at the heart of it is identical to a failed 2021 notice of proposed rulemaking, says attorney Kelly Morron.
-
Series
Riding My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Using the Peloton platform for cycling, running, rowing and more taught me that fostering a mind-body connection will not only benefit you physically and emotionally, but also inspire stamina, focus, discipline and empathy in your legal career, says Christopher Ward at Polsinelli.
-
Compliance Steps After ABA White Collar Crime Conference
Senior law enforcement officials’ statements this month at the American Bar Association's white collar crime conference suggest government enforcement efforts this year will increasingly focus on whistleblower incentives, artificial intelligence and data protection, and companies will need to update their compliance programs accordingly, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
-
Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.