Government Contracts

September 24, 2025
Ill. Judge Sends $7.6M DOJ Deal Coverage Dispute To Virginia

A consulting firm must litigate its suit seeking coverage for a $7.6 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in Virginia, where it is based, an Illinois federal court ruled, finding that Virginia is the more convenient forum and the better place to apply state law.
September 24, 2025
Mass. Turnpike Bid Dispute Squashed As Applegreen Exits

Blackstone Inc.-backed convenience store chain Applegreen has withdrawn a bid to rebuild and operate service plazas along the Massachusetts Turnpike and other highways, mooting a lawsuit by current plaza operator Global Partners, lawyers told a state court judge on Wednesday.
September 24, 2025
5th Circ. Tosses Takings Claim Over Texas Bridge Contract

The Fifth Circuit has ruled local governments can act like any other party to a contract after the city of Mesquite, Texas, refused to extend a development agreement and shut down an attempt by a group of real estate owners to claim a refund on costs for building a multipurpose bridge.
September 24, 2025
NYC Housing Bribe Case Winding Down As Another Trial Set

A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday teed up a trial for a Bronx assistant public housing superintendent accused of taking $14,000 in bribes, as an anti-corruption sweep targeting 70 workers at the New York City Housing Authority inched toward an end.
September 23, 2025
UC Researchers Win Expanded Injunction Against Grant Cuts

A California federal judge Monday issued another preliminary injunction ordering the Trump administration to reinstate grants awarded to University of California researchers, this time resurrecting grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Institutes of Health.
September 23, 2025
Judiciary Dems Demand Feds Explain 'Border Czar' Probe

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced Tuesday they are looking into the Trump administration's alleged closure of a U.S. Department of Justice bribery investigation of White House "border czar" Thomas Homan, following recent news reports that he accepted $50,000 from an undercover FBI agent.
September 23, 2025
Italy's Telecom Regulator Seeks 'Back Door' Network Fees

As debate rages in the U.S. about whether to help pay for broadband network deployment by imposing fees on streamers and Big Tech, an Italian regulator is getting around an EU restriction on so-called network fees by reclassifying content delivery networks as "electronic communications networks," an industry group warned.
September 23, 2025
FCC Demands Boomerang, Others Repay $1.1M For Contracts

The Federal Communications Commission said it is owed more than $1.1 million for spending more on computer tablets than was needed by two wireless companies during pandemic-era assistance programs.
September 23, 2025
Feds Tell Justices GEO Can't Rush Detainee Work Row Appeal

The federal government told the U.S. Supreme Court that immigrant detention contractor The GEO Group Inc. is wrong when it asserts that a federal judge's rejection of its immunity defense to a detainee class action could be appealed immediately.
September 23, 2025
Feds, Military Officers Support Contractor In Vet Injury Suit

The U.S. government and senior military officers urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a veteran's attempt to revive state-based injury claims against a defense contractor, warning that doing so would disrupt military effectiveness and intrude into federal authority.
September 23, 2025
DC Circ. Scraps OK Of $8.7M Equatorial Guinea Hospital Award

The D.C. Circuit Tuesday overturned enforcement of an $8.7 million arbitral award issued against Equatorial Guinea in a dispute over an ill-fated hospital operating contract, ruling that a lower court wrongly deferred to the arbitrators' interpretation of an ambiguous arbitration clause.
September 23, 2025
Broadband Co. Says $168M Award Appeal Must Move Fast

Peru is getting ready to terminate the state-owned telecom from which a broadband company is trying to collect $168 million in arbitral awards, so the D.C. Circuit should rush briefing on the appeal before any chance of collection goes out the window, that company has told the court.
September 23, 2025
Judge Demands Summary Of Unspent Foreign Aid Funds

A D.C. federal judge ordered the Trump administration to file a summary of uncommitted foreign aid funds from pre-2024 appropriations acts expiring at the end of September, after aid organizations said the government was deliberately trying to evade his injunction requiring that it obligate more than $6 billion by the end of the month.
September 23, 2025
Chemours Asks 4th Circ. To Toss Ohio River Pollution Order

Chemours told the Fourth Circuit a West Virginia federal judge botched the law and the science about the risks a forever chemical poses when he ordered its Washington Works facility to stop discharging permit-exceeding amounts of the substance into the Ohio River.
September 22, 2025
Justices Urged To Narrow Liability Defense In GEO Wage Row

Public Citizen urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to rein in lower courts' interpretation of the 85-year-old Yearsley ruling, arguing it doesn't provide government contractors sovereign immunity derived from the government.
September 22, 2025
5th Circ.'s 340B Ruling 'Limited,' Pharma Cos. Tell 4th Circ.

The Fifth Circuit's recent refusal to block a Mississippi law regulating the delivery of discounted drugs to rural providers can't be wielded by West Virginia in its battle over the law's constitutionality because of the distinctions between the two state laws, a coalition of pharmaceutical companies told the Fourth Circuit.
September 22, 2025
Newman Urges Full DC Circ. To Let Judges Sue Their Courts

U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has invoked a D.C. Circuit panel's "implicit invitation" for the full court to reconsider precedent limiting the rights of disciplined judges, as she continues to fight her suspension.
September 22, 2025
NJ Judge Nixes Investment Fund's Bid For Emails In Bias Suit

A Black-owned investment fund accusing New Jersey officials of bias cannot access emails from Gov. Phil Murphy and two of his Cabinet members because the information falls "squarely" within executive privilege, a magistrate judge said Monday, overruling the firm's objections to a special discovery master's report.
September 22, 2025
CVS's Omnicare Hits Ch. 11 After $949M FCA Judgment

Omnicare LLC, CVS Health's subsidiary that provides pharmacy services for long-term care facilities, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief Monday in Texas following a $949 million judgment against Omnicare and CVS issued by a New York federal judge earlier this year.
September 22, 2025
11th Circ. Wants More Arguments In Labor Agreement Fight

An Eleventh Circuit panel has asked for more arguments on jurisdiction and standing as it weighs two builder groups' legal challenge of an executive order requiring union-favoring project labor agreements for federal contracts valued over $35 million.
September 22, 2025
Fla. Marketer Gets 57 Months For $11.5M Medicare Fraud

A Florida marketer received nearly five years in prison after admitting in Florida federal court to his role in a scheme to defraud the U.S. out of $11.5 million by convincing Medicare beneficiaries to take genetic screen tests that were not medically necessary.
September 22, 2025
Judge Affirms JV Ineligibility For Navy Small Business Award

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that a business failed to cede enough control of a mentor-protégé joint venture to qualify for a U.S. Navy solicitation that sought a small business to provide environmental compliance support services.
September 19, 2025
DOD Watchdog Says Seafood Contracts Need Improvement

U.S. Department of Defense policies sufficiently ensure that its seafood comes from U.S. suppliers, though some contracting personnel overlooked clauses restricting purchases from foreign sources or that were tainted with forced or child labor, a watchdog report revealed.
September 19, 2025
Detention Facility Contract Able To Proceed Amid Protest

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge refused to block the Army's decision to have construction proceed at an immigration detention facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, while a company protests the task order at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
September 19, 2025
Feds Say Court Can't Stop Voice Of America Layoffs

The U.S. government agency that runs broadcaster Voice of America urged a D.C. federal judge not to hold that an order to fulfill its mandate as a news source blocks it from carrying out imminent layoffs, opposing an enforcement bid by unions and employees including VOA's director.

Editor's Picks

The Latest On Escobar's FCA Impact

Federal courts across the country are handing down important rulings interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on False Claims Act liability in Universal Health Services v. Escobar. As the rulings keep pouring in, stay up to speed on Law360’s latest coverage and analysis of Escobar’s impact.

Expert Analysis

Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Mastering Time Management

Law students typically have weeks or months to prepare for any given deadline, but the unpredictability of practicing in the real world means that lawyers must become time-management pros, ready to adapt to scheduling conflicts and unexpected assignments at any given moment, says David Thomas at Honigman.
Bid Protest Spotlight: Grounds, Clarifications, Amendments

Three recent decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office offer helpful reminders about matching protest grounds to the regulatory provisions under which a solicitation was issued, how the GAO will distinguish between agency clarifications and discussions, and when an agency is obligated to amend a request for proposals, says Brian Doll at MoFo.
How Hyperlinks Are Changing E-Discovery Responsibilities

A recent e-discovery dispute over hyperlinked data in Hubbard v. Crow shows how courts have increasingly broadened the definition of control to account for cloud-based evidence, and why organizations must rethink preservation practices to avoid spoliation risks, says Bree Murphy at Exterro.
State False Claims Acts Can Help Curb Opioid Fund Fraud

State versions of the federal False Claims Act can play an important role in policing the misuse of opioid settlement funds, taking a cue from the U.S. Department of Justice’s handling of federal fraud cases involving pandemic relief funds, says Kenneth Levine at Stone & Magnanini.
Series

Writing Musicals Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My experiences with writing musicals and practicing law have shown that the building blocks for both endeavors are one and the same, because drama is necessary for the law to exist, says Addison O’Donnell at LOIS Law.
Series

Adapting To Private Practice: From Va. AUSA To Mid-Law

Returning to the firm where I began my career after seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia has been complex, nuanced and rewarding, and I’ve learned that the pursuit of justice remains the constant, even as the mindset and client change, says Kristin Johnson at Woods Rogers.
7 Document Review Concepts New Attorneys Need To Know

For new associates joining firms this fall, stepping into the world of e-discovery can feel like learning a new language, but understanding a handful of fundamentals — from coding layouts to metadata — can help attorneys become fluent in document review, says Ann Motl at Bowman and Brooke.
Deference Ruling Could Close The FAR Loophole

A recent U.S. Court of Federal Claims decision may close a loophole in the Federal Acquisition Regulation that allows agencies to circumvent the Trade Agreements Act, significantly affecting federal pharmaceutical procurements and increasing protests related to certain Buy American Act waivers, say attorneys at Polsinelli.
How Trump's Space Order May Ease Industry's Growth

President Donald Trump's recent executive order aimed at removing environmental hurdles for spaceport authorization and streamlining the space industry's regulatory framework may open opportunities not only for established launch providers, but also smaller companies and spaceport authorities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
Agentic AI Puts A New Twist On Attorney Ethics Obligations

As lawyers increasingly use autonomous artificial intelligence agents, disciplinary authorities must decide whether attorney responsibility for an AI-caused legal ethics violation is personal or supervisory, and firms must enact strong policies regarding agentic AI use and supervision, says Grace Wynn at HWG.
Health Insurance Kickback Cases Signal Greater Gov't Focus

A series of recent indictments by federal prosecutors in California suggests that the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act is gaining momentum as an enforcement tool against illegal inducement of patient referrals in the realm of commercial health insurance, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.
Series

Being A Professional Wrestler Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Pursuing my childhood dream of being a professional wrestler has taught me important legal career lessons about communication, adaptability, oral advocacy and professionalism, says Christopher Freiberg at Midwest Disability.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Adapting To The Age Of AI

Though law school may not have specifically taught us how to use generative artificial intelligence to help with our daily legal tasks, it did provide us the mental building blocks necessary for adapting to this new technology — and the judgment to discern what shouldn’t be automated, says Pamela Dorian at Cozen O'Connor.
Ch. 11 Ruling Voiding $2M Litigation Funding Sends A Warning

A recent Texas bankruptcy court decision that a postconfirmation litigation trust has no obligations to repay a completely drawn down $2 million litigation funding agreement serves as a warning for estate administrators and funders to properly disclose the intended financing, say attorneys at Kleinberg Kaplan.
DOJ's Novel Cybersecurity FCA Case Is A Warning To Medtech

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent False Claims Act settlement with Illumina over alleged cybersecurity deficiencies suggests that enforcement agencies and whistleblowers are focusing attention toward cybersecurity in life sciences and medical tech, but also reveals key unanswered questions about the legal viability of such allegations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.