Government Contracts

  • May 02, 2024

    7th Circ. Mostly Backs Ill. Home Health Kickbacks Judgment

    The Seventh Circuit on Thursday largely left intact an Illinois federal judge's $6 million ruling that a home health care company broke federal kickback laws, refusing to reverse the lower court's liability finding but directing it to ensure its damages award was calculated correctly.

  • May 02, 2024

    Hahn Air To Pay Feds $26.8M To End FCA Travel Fees Suit

    Hahn Air Lines agreed to pay $26.8 million to resolve a whistleblower's allegations that the German airline-ticketing company violated the False Claims Act by intentionally failing to remit to the U.S. government certain travel fees the company collected from U.S. commercial airline passengers.

  • May 02, 2024

    Gov't Proposes Buy Ban Rule For Certain Semiconductors

    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council said Thursday it is planning to implement a ban on federal purchases of semiconductor products from U.S. adversaries, asking for feedback from contractors on how prescriptive the pending rule should be.

  • May 02, 2024

    Sysco Unit To Provide Back Pay To End DOL Hiring Bias Probe

    A subsidiary of restaurant food distributor Sysco Corp. will pay over $133,000 in back pay to resolve the U.S. Department of Labor's allegations that it discriminated against women by failing to hire qualified female applicants to fill open warehouse positions in Palmetto, Florida, the agency said Thursday.

  • May 02, 2024

    Email Exchanges Doom Honeywell Bid To Nix $20M GSA Claim

    A contract appeals board wouldn't free Honeywell International Inc. from the General Services Administration's efforts to recoup an alleged $20 million overpayment on an energy deal, finding it unclear whether a 2021 agreement related to the contract barred the claim.

  • May 02, 2024

    Abu Ghraib Contractor Torture Liability Case Ends In Mistrial

    A Virginia federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial in a suit accusing military contractor CACI International of aiding and abetting torture at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq, after the jury deadlocked following extensive deliberations.

  • May 02, 2024

    Pharma. Co. Wants Ex-Director To Stop Poaching Customers

    A pharmaceutical company has doubled down on its bid to stop a former director from soliciting customers for a rival drugmaker, saying he's trying to twist words in his contract and make up excuses for allegedly stealing trade secrets following his termination.

  • May 02, 2024

    Cisco Counterfeiting Scheme Earns Fla. Man 6½ Years

    A Florida resident was sentenced to 6½ years in prison after pleading guilty to running what New Jersey federal prosecutors said was an "enormous" scheme to sell over $1 billion worth of counterfeit and broken Cisco networking devices.

  • May 02, 2024

    11th Circ. Rules Tribal Co. Is Not Immune In Trade Secrets Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has revived a tribal-owned defense contractor's suit against another tribal-owned competitor and a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets, finding the competitor agreed to federal court jurisdiction when it participated in the bidding process for work on a missile detection system.

  • May 02, 2024

    11th Circ. Urged To Clear Final Hurdle To Interstate Water Deal

    As the finish line comes into view in Georgia and Alabama's decadeslong fight over water rights, the Peach State, the federal government and a host of local water providers are urging the Eleventh Circuit to reject a bid by environmental groups to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' management proposal for the Apalachicola watershed.

  • May 02, 2024

    Claims Court Won't Upend $21M FEMA Deal Over Doc Mix-Up

    The U.S. Court of Federal Claims refused to read further misconduct into a document mix-up in the $21 million battle over a Federal Emergency Management Agency administrative deal, accepting FEMA's explanations that it made a small mistake.

  • May 02, 2024

    DOL Fights Bid To Halt Prevailing Wage Rule

    A group of construction groups didn't show how a final rule regulating prevailing wages hurts them, and halting the rule wouldn't be in the public's interest, the U.S. Department of Labor told a Texas federal court.

  • May 02, 2024

    GAO Backs Navy's Cost Realism Evaluation For Support Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a joint venture's protest of a U.S. Navy decision to tap a competitor for an operations support deal in the Philippines, saying the protest was based on a misunderstanding of cost realism evaluation requirements.

  • May 01, 2024

    Senate Revs Up For FAA Funding Fight

    The U.S. Senate on Wednesday inched toward advancing multiyear legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration's safety and airport improvement programs, accelerating debate on a package that would hire more air traffic controllers and enhance passenger protections amid high-profile aviation industry mishaps.

  • May 01, 2024

    Colo. Toll Lane Venture Says Aecom Can't Get Penalty Interest

    A Colorado joint venture that formed to construct a state toll lanes project has told a federal judge that he erroneously awarded a design firm penalty interest on a $5.2 million judgment, arguing in a motion that the firm doesn't qualify as a subcontractor under Colorado law.

  • May 01, 2024

    Food Supplier Can't Shake Off $5M DOD Bid-Rigging Claim

    A food supplier must face a U.S. Department of Defense agency's efforts to recoup the purported $5 million lost to an ex-employee's bid-rigging scheme, after a contract appeals board ruled the contractor was required to provide fair, unrigged prices.

  • May 01, 2024

    Billionaire Energy Co. Founder Sues Booz Allen Over IRS Leak

    Energy Transfer co-founder Kelcy Warren accused government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton of failing to supervise an employee who stole Warren's private tax information and that of thousands of other wealthy people while on assignment at the IRS, according to a complaint in Maryland federal court.

  • May 01, 2024

    Feds Say Conn. Psychologist's Fraud Was His 'Way Of Life'

    A Connecticut psychologist who pled guilty to defrauding his state's Medicaid program of $1.6 million in January should spend three years and one month in prison for a scheme that was "a way of life" rather than a momentary lapse in judgment, the government said in a sentencing memorandum.

  • April 30, 2024

    Texas Appeals Panel Keeps Court Reporter's AI Case Alive

    An Austin, Texas, appeals panel on Tuesday kept alive a court reporter's attempt to pursue an administrative complaint against an artificial intelligence-powered "digital reporting firm," rejecting a state agency's argument that jurisdictional issues block the court reporter from seeking a writ of mandamus compelling the agency to consider her claims.

  • April 30, 2024

    State Dept. Proposes Export Waivers For Australia, UK

    The U.S. Department of State proposed a regulation Tuesday that would exempt Australia and the United Kingdom from export restrictions on sensitive technology as it faces mounting congressional pressure to support a defense partnership with them.

  • April 30, 2024

    Wash. Fights GEO's Bid For Final End To ICE Detention Law

    The state of Washington pushed back against GEO Group's effort to scrap its law allowing surprise inspections and raising hygiene standards at immigration detention facilities, saying the private prison operator is already partly shielded from enforcement of the law while a Washington federal court considers its constitutional challenge.

  • April 30, 2024

    Alaskan Builder Says Army Corps Delayed $41.2M Deal

    An Alaska construction company is protesting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' decision to boot it off a $41.2 million military construction project for delays, telling the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that the Corps caused the delays.

  • April 30, 2024

    Pfizer Can't Slip COVID-19 Vax Suit, Texas Tells Court

    The Texas attorney general told a federal judge not to let Pfizer Inc. out of its suit accusing the pharmaceutical company of misleading the public about its COVID-19 vaccine, arguing the suit was properly pled under state law in a brief filed Monday.

  • April 30, 2024

    UK Fund Cites Jacobs' Qatar Oversight Failings In Del. Suit

    A UK pension fund investor in the U.S.-based business that oversaw construction of 2022 World Cup soccer facilities in Qatar has sued the company's directors in Delaware's Court of Chancery, seeking recovery of damages arising from director failures to monitor human rights violations reported by workers.

  • April 30, 2024

    10th Circ. Says Biden Can Raise Contractors' Minimum Wage

    President Joe Biden's minimum hourly wage increase for federal contractors to $15 is intertwined with furthering the economy and is therefore supported by the Procurement Act, a split Tenth Circuit panel ruled Tuesday, agreeing with a Colorado federal court to keep the wage bump.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know About FCA Cybersecurity Enforcement

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    Now is a good time for practitioners, government contractors and potential relators to review recent developments in cybersecurity-related False Claims Act enforcement, and consider best practices for navigating this space in the new year, say Ellen London at London & Stout, and Li Yu and Molly Knobler at DiCello Levitt.

  • 4 Legal Ethics Considerations For The New Year

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    As attorneys and clients reset for a new year, now is a good time to take a step back and review some core ethical issues that attorneys should keep front of mind in 2024, including approaching generative artificial intelligence with caution and care, and avoiding pitfalls in outside counsel guidelines, say attorneys at HWG.

  • What May Define Contract Disputes Act Jurisdiction In 2024

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    Now is a good time to reflect on how several recent decisions may have limited the government's ability to weaponize jurisdictional prerequisites under the Contract Disputes Act, and how this new direction may affect government contractors and practitioners filing CDA appeals in 2024, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • What The Law Firm Of The Future Will Look Like

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    As the legal landscape shifts, it’s become increasingly clear that the BigLaw business model must adapt in four key ways to remain viable, from fostering workplace flexibility to embracing technology, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • 4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

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    Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.

  • The Space Law And Policy Outlook For 2024

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    Expect significant movement in space law, regulation and policy in 2024, as Congress, the administration and independent federal agencies like the Federal Communications Commission address the increasingly congested, contested and competitive nature of space and the space industry, say Paul Stimers and Leighton Brown at Holland & Knight.

  • Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

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    Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

  • The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

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    A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.

  • Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges

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    As the educational sector expands its use of government funding, schools are at increased risk under the False Claims Act, but recent settlements offer valuable lessons about new theories of liability they may face and specific procedures to reduce their exposure, say James Zelenay and Jeremy Ochsenbein at Gibson Dunn.

  • HHS Advisory Highlights Free Product Inducement Risks

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    A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advisory opinion highlights concerns that valuable free products and other inducements may influence patients and providers to choose one manufacturer’s product over another, notwithstanding that such free healthcare products may be a benefit, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

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    Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.

  • Bribery Bill Fills Gap In Foreign Corruption Enforcement

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    Congress recently passed the Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, significantly expanding the U.S. government's ability to prosecute foreign officials who seek or demand bribes, but if enacted, the legislation could also create tension with other nations, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray and Mayer Brown.

  • In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

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    Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Termination and Accrual

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    Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw examine three recent decisions that illustrate why contractors should consider, during the bidding process, impediments to their ability to meet contract requirements, and the need to track the accrual dates of individual claims that may arise during performance to avoid being time-barred.

  • How Attorneys Can Be More Efficient This Holiday Season

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    Attorneys should consider a few key tips to speed up their work during the holidays so they can join the festivities — from streamlining the document review process to creating similar folder structures, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

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