Analysis

Trump's 'Abnormal' Use Of FCA Could Get Tricky In Court

By Phillip Bantz

The Trump administration is wielding the False Claims Act in unusually narrow ways to drive policies on social and cultural issues — including gender-affirming care and diversity, equity and inclusion programs — but the government's potential theories of liability under the federal law remain largely untested and might not hold up in court, experts say.

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IRS Told To Explain Granting $142M Contract Without Bids

By Anna Scott Farrell

The IRS must explain why it thinks an executive order mandating electronic tax payments required it to skip the competitive bidding process in awarding a $142 million contract for scanning and digitizing incoming tax filings, the Court of Federal Claims said.

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NASA Gets Sensor Co.'s Patent Deal Breach Claims Tossed

By Tom Lotshaw

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge axed an Ohio company's claims that NASA breached contracts to license and commercialize the agency's patented sensor technology, ruling that NASA fulfilled its side of the bargain before ending the agreements.

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9th Circ. Sides With Wash. In Immigration Detention Law Case

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel has overturned an injunction blocking a Washington state law calling for new health and safety standards at the state's privately run immigration detention center, saying Tuesday the lower court wrongly compared the facility to a prison when ruling in favor of its for-profit operator, GEO Group Inc.

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Texas Co., Exec To Pay $12.4M In Customs Evasion FCA Suit

By Sarah Jarvis

A Dallas-based countertop and cabinetry product supplier and its president agreed on Tuesday to pay more than $12.4 million to settle a False Claims Act suit alleging they conspired to evade import duties on quartz products from China, with more than $2.1 million designated for a whistleblower.

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Lab Owner Gets 3 Years For $40M COVID-19 Test Fraud

By Carolina Bolado

A co-founder of a laboratory accused of submitting $40 million in unnecessary COVID-19 and genetic testing claims to healthcare benefit programs was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday, after a Florida federal judge credited him for the extensive cooperation he provided the government before and during a trial against his co-defendants.

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$8M Lake Michigan Dock Damages Suit Sent To Florida

By Tom Lotshaw

A Michigan federal judge has said a Lake Michigan marine transportation company accusing Lockheed Martin Corp. and the U.S. Navy of causing more than $8 million of damage to its facility while testing a naval vessel must pursue the litigation in the Middle District of Florida.

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CMS Defeats 'Hair's Breadth' Star Rating Challenge

By Dan McKay

Insurance companies challenging the "star" system for rating Medicare Advantage organizations have lost another round in court, with a Texas federal judge saying Elevance Health failed to show federal officials violated the law when rounding down scores.

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Nonprofits, Union Fight Withholding Of AmeriCorps Funds

By Beverly Banks

A group of nonprofits and a union added claims to their suit in Maryland federal court aiming to stop the Trump administration from dismantling AmeriCorps, accusing the Office of Management and Budget of unlawfully withholding millions of dollars appropriated by Congress for grant programs.

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What 2 Profs Noticed As Transactional Law Students Used AI

After a semester using generative artificial intelligence tools with students in an entrepreneurship law clinic, we came away with numerous observations about the opportunities and challenges such tools present to new transactional lawyers, say professors at Cornell Law School.

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Morris Manning Faces $5M Ga. RICO Suit Over Tax Strategy

By Emily Sawicki

Morris Manning & Martin LLP is facing allegations of racketeering and tax fraud in a suit brought in Georgia state court by three investors that names a number of professional services firms.

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LegalZoom Launches Patent Filing Service

By Matt Perez

Online legal services provider LegalZoom announced Tuesday the launch of a streamlined alternative to traditional patent filing through its Arizona-based law firm LZ Legal Services.

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Trump Says Fed's Cook 'Must Resign' Amid Loan Fraud Claim

By Jon Hill

President Donald Trump's Federal Housing Finance Agency chief on Wednesday accused Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook of potential mortgage fraud and said he has referred the matter to federal prosecutors, prompting Trump to call for Cook's immediate resignation.

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In Illinois, Public Defender Welcomes Sea Change In Structure

By Steven Trader

Illinois is set to receive the first overhaul of its public defense system in 75 years, and Champaign County Chief Public Defender Elisabeth Pollock is "very much looking forward" to it, she told Law360.

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Error-Filled Pro Se Recusal Bid Draws Conn. Judge's Ire

By Emily Sawicki

A Connecticut federal judge will not docket a pro se recusal request in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud action accusing a man of skimming nearly $1 million in investments designated for hotel repair work, saying in a minute order that the defendant otherwise has counsel and submitted a meritless, error-riddled bid.

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Abrego Garcia Seeks To Toss Feds' 'Vindictive' Charges

By Britain Eakin

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the government erroneously deported to El Salvador in March, has asked a Tennessee federal judge to dismiss federal human smuggling charges he contends constitute retaliation for challenging his removal.

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Ga. Court Drops Greenberg Traurig Suit After Atty's Death

By Chart Riggall

The Georgia Court of Appeals said Wednesday that it will toss an appeal in a legal malpractice suit filed by a record executive against Greenberg Traurig LLP and its former music law guru Joel Katz after the parties were unable to identify a successor for Katz following his death earlier this year.

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NC's Cap On Med Mal Damages Is Constitutional, Panel Rules

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a state law capping compensatory damages in certain medical malpractice lawsuits at $500,000 is constitutional, handing a defeat to a woman seeking to recoup her full $7.5 million jury verdict stemming from the loss of her unborn baby.

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