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Government Contracts
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April 23, 2024
Sharper Sustainability Rule May Strengthen Bid Protests
A new regulation for more environmentally friendly government purchases puts teeth into a long-standing requirement for sustainable procurement, and is likely to strengthen businesses' arguments in bid protests as agencies wrestle with the full scope of the rule.
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April 23, 2024
Biz Owner Faces Second Jury Over Alleged VA Kickback Plot
An Illinois business owner faced his second federal jury Tuesday as prosecutors asserted he should be convicted of wire fraud for paying kickbacks to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clerk in exchange for medical equipment business that included "bogus" rental fees.
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April 23, 2024
Judge Allows $956M Atty Fees In 3M, DuPont PFAS Settlements
A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday signed off on attorney fees totaling more than $956 million in settlements with 3M and DuPont over so-called forever chemicals in firefighting foam that contaminated drinking water, saying that another group of lawyers may not have been able to reach the same outcome.
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April 23, 2024
Nuclear Plant Contractor Inks $18.4M Deal To End FCA Claims
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC will pay $18.4 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted false claims for time not worked at a nuclear weapons plant.
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April 23, 2024
Juvenile Facility Abuse Suits Will Move To State Court
A trio of plaintiffs who were denied class certification for their civil rights claims against Abraxas Youth and Family Services have agreed to withdraw their federal suit against the juvenile facility operator with an eye toward refiling their remaining claims in state court.
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April 23, 2024
$45B DOE Deal Backed By Common Sense, Contractor Says
A U.S. Department of Energy contractor urged the Federal Circuit to restore a $45 billion deal it won, saying the department was allowed to award the deal despite the contractor not being continuously registered in a federal award management database.
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April 23, 2024
3 More Charged In Iranian Hacks Of Treasury, State Depts.
New York federal prosecutors have charged three more Iranian men for their alleged roles in a hacking campaign targeting the U.S. departments of Treasury and State as well as companies that held security clearances with the American government.
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April 23, 2024
Paul Hastings Transaction Security Adviser Joins V&E
Vinson & Elkins LLP announced the hire Monday of a Paul Hastings LLP attorney with experience advising on national security laws related to foreign investment as a partner in Washington, D.C.
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April 23, 2024
Jury Finds Ex-Ecuadorian Official Guilty Of Money Laundering
A Florida federal jury on Tuesday found the former comptroller of Ecuador guilty on all counts charged against him by the government, which accused him of taking millions of dollars in bribes and directing his son, a banker in Miami, to launder the money.
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April 22, 2024
Judge Finds Feds Own Historic Virgin Islands Resort
A U.S. Virgin Islands federal judge has found the government owns the title to the historic Caneel Bay resort on a St. John peninsula, ruling against an operator in a dispute that arose after the resort suffered damage from back-to-back Category 5 hurricanes in 2017.
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April 22, 2024
Jury Hears Of Torture As Abu Ghraib Contractor Trial Wraps
After six days of trial and three hours of deliberation, the jury for a suit accusing military contractor CACI International of conspiring to commit torture at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq recessed without a verdict Monday.
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April 22, 2024
Miami Seaquarium Operator Fights Eviction Bid In $35M Suit
The operator of the Miami Seaquarium is fighting an alleged attempt by Miami-Dade County to unlawfully terminate its lease, saying in a federal lawsuit it will lose $35 million from a possible eviction that occurred after the company's CEO criticized county officials in an email over the facility's condition.
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April 22, 2024
Texas, Mo. Seek Full Vacatur Of DHS Border Wall Plan
Texas and Missouri on Monday urged a Texas federal court to fully vacate the Biden administration's plans to redirect border wall construction funds, saying the plan adopted an overarching policy the court had declared was unlawful.
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April 22, 2024
Watchdog Nixes Unfair Treatment Claims In $310M VA IT Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office was unconvinced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affair graded an IT firm's bid for a $310.3 million deal more harshly than a competitor's, saying the rankings reflected differences in the bids.
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April 22, 2024
NJ Town Can't Beat Sanctions Over Legal Malpractice Suit
A New Jersey state appeals panel upheld Monday, in a published opinion, sanctions against the borough of Englewood Cliffs for bringing a now-dismissed legal malpractice suit after a purportedly unfavorable affordable housing settlement.
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April 22, 2024
Jury Begins Deliberating In Ex-Ecuador Official's Bribery Trial
Jurors began deliberating Monday afternoon in Florida federal court on the fate of the former comptroller of Ecuador, who prosecutors say took millions of dollars in bribes and directed his son, a banker in Miami, to launder the money.
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April 22, 2024
Feds Botched Building Contract Prices, Watchdog Reports
Federal building overseers in the Southeast U.S. used distorted pricing for medium-term construction contracts that produced significantly inflated and unreasonably low-cost estimates, according to a government watchdog.
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April 22, 2024
Court Tosses Shipbuilders No-Poach Case As Untimely
A Virginia federal court found that a pair of warship designers haven't shown that major shipbuilders for the U.S. military, including General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries, concealed a "gentlemen's agreement" to not poach workers from one another.
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April 22, 2024
Hedge Funder's IRS Suit Over Leaked Tax Info Gets Trimmed
A Florida federal judge on Monday dismissed part of a hedge fund executive's case seeking to hold the Internal Revenue Service accountable for a leak of his private tax data to the media, saying he failed to show he suffered any damages.
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April 22, 2024
New Atlanta-Area City Beats Constitutional Challenge
A Georgia state court judge Friday tossed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of a newly incorporated city in suburban Atlanta, ruling that a provision of the cityhood referendum allowing it to create a special tax district wasn't a violation of the state constitution.
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April 22, 2024
Palo Alto Networks Execs Face Suit Over Misleading Outlook
Executives and directors of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks have been hit with a shareholder derivative suit in California federal court alleging they misled investors about the success of its platform consolidation strategy, which was expected to result in lucrative government contracts.
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April 22, 2024
DC Judge Backs Feds' Power To Sanction Ex-Afghan Officials
A D.C. federal judge shaved down a lawsuit challenging U.S. financial and immigration sanctions against two former Afghan lawmakers, stressing that the executive branch has sweeping authority to issue sanctions on individuals it finds to be corrupt.
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April 22, 2024
Calif. High Court Says Pretrial Inmates Can't Get Min. Wage
The California Supreme Court on Monday ruled that pretrial detainees who work while in jail are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime claims under California's labor law, finding the state's penal code permitting such work covers nonconvicted individuals.
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April 22, 2024
DOJ Legal Counsel Must Disclose Interagency Rulings: Judge
Opinions from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel on interagency disputes should be made available for public review, a judge has found, siding with an open government watchdog in a long-running records dispute.
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April 22, 2024
SpaceX Fights NLRB's Structure Again Over Agency Suit
SpaceX mounted another challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure in Texas federal court, telling the judge to stop administrative proceedings over an unfair labor practice complaint alleging the company's severance agreement is unlawful.
Expert Analysis
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How DOD Can Improve Flexibility Under Proposed Cyber Rule
The U.S. Department of Defense should carefully address some of the more nuanced aspects of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program to avoid unintended consequences, specifically the proposal to severely limit contractor use of plans of actions and milestones, say Joshua Duvall at Maynard Nexsen and Sandeep Kathuria at L3Harris Technologies.
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Fed. Circ. Ruling Helps Clarify When Gov't Clawback Is Timely
The Federal Circuit’s examination of claims accrual in a January decision that allows the Defense Contract Management Agency to pursue overpayment claims under a cost-reimbursement contract serves as a reminder that the government can lose such claims by waiting too long to file, say Evan Sherwood and Peter Hutt at Covington.
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Preparing For DOJ's Data Analytics Push In FCPA Cases
After the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent announcement that it will leverage data analytics in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations and prosecutions, companies will need to develop a compliance strategy that likewise implements data analytics to get ahead of enforcement risks, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.
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Considering The Logical Extremes Of Your Legal Argument
Recent oral arguments in the federal election interference case against former President Donald Trump highlighted the age-old technique of extending an argument to its logical limit — a principle that is still important for attorneys to consider in preparing their cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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How 3 New Laws Change Calif. Nonprofits' Legal Landscape
Legislation that went into effect on Jan. 1 should be welcomed by California’s nonprofit organizations, which may now receive funding more quickly, rectify past noncompliance more easily and have greater access to the states’ security funding program, say Casey Williams and Brett Overby at Liebert Cassidy.
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ChristianaCare Settlement Reveals FCA Pitfalls For Hospitals
ChristianaCare's False Claims Act settlement in December is the first one based on a hospital allegedly providing private physicians with free services in the form of hospital-employed clinicians and provides important compliance lessons as the government ramps up scrutiny of compensation arrangements, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
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Series
Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.
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Freight Forwarders And Common Carriers: Know Your Cargo
Freight forwarders and other nonprincipal parties involved in global cargo movement should follow the guidance in the multi-agency know-your-cargo compliance note to avoid enforcement actions should they fail to spot evasive tactics used in supply chains to circumvent U.S. sanctions and export controls, say attorneys at Venable.
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SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap
As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.
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Opinion
The PLUS Act Is The Best Choice For Veterans
Of two currently pending federal legislative proposals, the Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services Act's plan to diversify and expedite the processing of veterans' claims through an expanded network of accredited providers offers the better solution, say Michael Andrews at McGuireWoods and Matthew Feehan at Nearside Solutions.
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Skirting Anti-Kickback Causation Standard Amid Circuit Split
Amid the federal circuit court split over the causation standard applicable to False Claims Act cases involving Anti-Kickback Statute violations, which the First Circuit will soon consider in U.S. v. Regeneron, litigators aiming to circumvent the heightened standard should contemplate certain strategies, say Matthew Modafferi and Terence Park at Frier Levitt.
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What New Calif. Strike Force Means For White Collar Crimes
The recently announced Central District of California strike force targeting complex corporate and securities fraud — following the Northern District of California's model — combines experienced prosecutorial leadership and partnerships with federal agencies like the IRS and FBI, and could result in an uptick in the number of cases and speed of proceedings, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Standing And A Golden Rule
In this month's bid protest roundup, Victoria Angle at MoFo examines one recent decision that clarifies the elements necessary to establish prejudice and federal claims court standing in multiphase protests, and two that exemplify a government procurements golden rule.
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Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout
While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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Grant Compliance Takeaways From Ga. Tech's FCA Settlement
Georgia Tech’s recent False Claims Act settlement over its failure to detect compliance shortcomings in a grant program was unique in that it involved a voluntary repayment of funds prior to the resolution, offering a few key lessons for universities receiving research funding from the government, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.