Government Contracts

August 20, 2025
Judge Grills Feds On Upending 30-Year Noncitizen Benefits

A Rhode Island federal judge seemed perplexed Wednesday by a government attorney's contention that for nearly 30 years, various administrations across the political spectrum have wrongly interpreted a law the Trump administration now says requires immigration status checks for additional federal benefits.
August 20, 2025
Wash. Seeks To Stop NOAA's Climate Change Grant Cuts

The state of Washington is urging a Seattle federal judge to save more than $9.3 million in climate change resiliency funding that it claims is "on the chopping block" as the Trump administration moves to eliminate programming to promote environmental justice and reduce carbon emissions.
August 20, 2025
Texas AG Says Chase Can't Recoup Failed $10M Project

The Texas Office of the Attorney General on Wednesday asked the state's highest court to reject JPMorgan Chase Bank NA's attempt to get a city to continue to make payments on a botched $10 million project, saying such payments would run afoul of the Texas Constitution.
August 20, 2025
Feds Lose Bid To Seal In Vax Patent Case Against Moderna

The U.S. government has failed to show why names and contact information of certain U.S. Department of the Army employees should be hidden in an mRNA vaccine developer's $5 billion patent suit over Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines, a federal judge has found.
August 20, 2025
Microsoft Fired Manager Despite Army Praise, Suit Says

Microsoft removed a federal contract manager in Germany and later fired her after she pursued disability and retaliation claims, even as the U.S. Army expanded its contract with the company and praised her work, according to a complaint filed in Washington federal court.
August 20, 2025
Chemours Says Injunction Appeal Warrants Stay Of CWA Suit

Chemours urged a federal judge to pause a Clean Water Act suit while it appeals a preliminary injunction ordering it to stop its Washington Works plant from discharging excessive amounts of a "forever chemical" into the Ohio River.
August 20, 2025
Insurers Say Gov't Misusing FCA To Get Medicare Cost Cap

Insurers accused of paying brokers to steer customers to their Medicare Advantage plans asked a Massachusetts federal judge to dismiss a False Claims Act lawsuit, saying the government is mischaracterizing legal payments for marketing as kickbacks in an attempt to impose caps it has thus far been unable to obtain.
August 20, 2025
CVS PBM Overbilling Judgment Trebled To $289M

A Pennsylvania federal judge has increased threefold a judgment against CVS Caremark from $95 million to $289 million for overbilling Medicare Part D-sponsored drugs.
August 19, 2025
9th Circ. Sides With Wash. In Immigration Detention Law Case

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.
August 19, 2025
Texas Co., Exec To Pay $12.4M In Customs Evasion FCA Suit

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.
August 19, 2025
Lab Owner Gets 3 Years For $40M COVID-19 Test Fraud

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.
August 19, 2025
Nonprofits, Union Fight Withholding Of AmeriCorps Funds

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.
August 19, 2025
$8M Lake Michigan Dock Damages Suit Sent To Florida

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.
August 19, 2025
CMS Defeats 'Hair's Breadth' Star Rating Challenge

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.
August 19, 2025
IRS Told To Explain Granting $142M Contract Without Bids

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.
August 19, 2025
NASA Gets Sensor Co.'s Patent Deal Breach Claims Tossed

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.
August 19, 2025
Trump's 'Abnormal' Use Of FCA Could Get Tricky In Court

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.
August 18, 2025
OMB Says Agencies Can Cut Some Gov't Contract Requirements

The Office of Management and Budget authorized federal agencies to immediately start eliminating requirements from future government contracts as part of the Trump administration's effort to get rid of non-statutory rules from the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
August 18, 2025
9th Circ. Splits Over Ore.'s Denial Of Christian Youth Grants

A split Ninth Circuit panel on Monday largely upheld a lower court's refusal to preliminarily block Oregon's requirement that recipients of certain youth grants agree not to discriminate on the basis of religion, though it also said the rule is unconstitutional if it restricts any initiatives that aren't tied to the grants.
August 18, 2025
GAO Says $868M Navy Contract Evaluation Was Not Unfair

The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied a Virginia company's protest of a $868 million U.S. Navy contract for information technology support services, saying there's no proof that an unlevel playing field influenced the agency's assessment of the protester's proposal.
August 18, 2025
AmeriCorps Restores $400M In Slashed Grants, Judge Told

AmeriCorps told a Maryland federal judge Monday that the agency restored around $400 million in funding to nonprofits canceled under the Trump administration in April, saying the government doesn't plan to ax grants before they end.
August 18, 2025
AI Security Co. Reports $15M Settlement With Investors

A Massachusetts-based company whose AI-powered weapons detection product has come under scrutiny by federal regulators over allegedly exaggerated performance claims has reached a $15 million settlement in principle with investors in consolidated proposed class actions, according to a pair of filings.
August 15, 2025
18 AGs, Governors Sue To Block DOE Funding Cap

A coalition of 19 states and Washington, D.C., on Friday hauled the U.S. Department of Energy into Oregon federal court, challenging a policy they say places a new cap on reimbursements for administrative and staffing costs, and thus slashes funds needed for state-run energy programs.
August 15, 2025
Trump's Divisive 'China Initiative' May Get A Vigorous Reboot

The Trump administration's ongoing battles with major universities may soon include the revival of an initiative that, with mixed success, targeted professors with ties to China during the president's first term, and experts told Law360 the second incarnation may be even more aggressive.
August 15, 2025
Mass. Nonprofit To Pay $1M To Settle FCA Allegations

A Massachusetts nonprofit will pay $1 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by securing a pandemic relief loan that it was never eligible for and was later forgiven, federal prosecutors said Friday.

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

Utility Agency Suits May Rise As Calif. Justices Nix Deference

A recent California Supreme Court ruling rejecting the uniquely deferential standard of review accorded to California Public Utilities Commission decisions interpreting the Public Utilities Code will incentivize more litigation against the agency, as long as litigants can show their challenges meet certain requirements, says Thaila Sundaresan at Davis Wright.
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.
Top Takeaways From Trump's AI Action Plan

President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan represents some notable evolution in U.S. policy, including affirmation of the administration's trend toward prioritizing artificial intelligence innovation over guardrails and toward supporting greater U.S. private sector reach overseas, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
Rebuttal

BigLaw Settlements Should Not Spur Ethics Deregulation

A recent Law360 op-ed argued that loosening law firm funding restrictions would make BigLaw firms less inclined to settle with the Trump administration, but deregulating legal financing ethics may well prove to be not merely ineffective, but counterproductive, says Laurel Kilgour at the American Economic Liberties Project.
Bid Protest Spotlight: Injunctions, Unequal Treatment

Two recent decisions by the Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office illustrate how poorly defined criteria can muddle an agency's evaluation and best-value decision, and affirm the fundamental principle that an agency must evenhandedly evaluate vendors' quotations against solicitation requirements, says Victoria Angle at MoFo.
5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.
Series

Hiking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

On the trail, I have thought often about the parallels between hiking and high-stakes patent litigation, and why strategizing, preparation, perseverance and joy are important skills for success in both endeavors, says Barbara Fiacco at Foley Hoag.
Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills

I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.
DOJ Whistleblower Program May Fuel Criminal Antitrust Tack

A recently launched Justice Department program that provides rewards for reporting antitrust crimes related to the U.S. Postal Service will serve to supplement the department’s leniency program, signaling an ambition to expand criminal enforcement while deepening collaboration across agencies, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Opinion

Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test

Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers’ competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.
Export Misconduct Resolutions Emphasize BIS, DOJ Priorities

The U.S. Department of Justice's and Bureau of Industry and Security's recently resolved parallel enforcement actions against semiconductor technology company Cadence Design demonstrate the agencies' prioritization of penalties for export control violations involving China, as well as the importance of voluntary self-disclosure, say attorneys at Fenwick.
A Simple Way Courts Can Help Attys Avoid AI Hallucinations

As attorneys increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence for legal research, courts should consider expanding online quality control programs to flag potential hallucinations — permitting counsel to correct mistakes and sparing judges the burden of imposing sanctions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl and Connors.
Strategies For ICE Agent Misconduct Suits In The 11th Circ.

Attorneys have numerous pathways to pursue misconduct claims against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the Eleventh Circuit, and they need not wait for the court to correct its misinterpretation of a Federal Tort Claims Act exception, says Lauren Bonds at the National Police Accountability Project.
Series

Creating Botanical Art Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Pressing and framing plants that I grow has shown me that pursuing an endeavor that brings you joy can lead to surprising benefits for a legal career, including mental clarity, perspective and even a bit of humility, says Douglas Selph at Morris Manning.
Supreme Court's Criminal Law Decisions: The Term In Review

Though the U.S. Supreme Court’s criminal law decisions in its recently concluded term proved underwhelming by many measures, their opinions revealed trends in how the justices approach criminal cases and offered reminders for practitioners, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.