Government Contracts

  • March 25, 2024

    Former Next Health Exec Sanctioned For Evidence Slipup

    A Texas federal judge sanctioned a former executive at the scandal-ridden ancillary services company Next Health, but didn't go so far as to level a case-killing default judgment against him, saying that while the plaintiffs lost access to key data, the executive didn't act with bad faith.

  • March 25, 2024

    Ex-LA Official Downplayed Role In Huizar Bribes, Jury Told

    An FBI agent told California federal jurors in former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan's criminal trial Monday that Chan denied facilitating bribes between then-city councilor Jose Huizar and a developer when initially questioned by investigators, despite evidence showing he helped orchestrate Las Vegas trips and loans to help Huizar.

  • March 25, 2024

    SolarWinds Makes Renewed Bid To Toss SEC Cyber Suit

    SolarWinds Corp. has asked a New York federal court to dismiss an amended suit it is facing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the agency cites documents that contradict its claims against the government contractor.

  • March 25, 2024

    IHS Fears Budget Cuts Over Tribal Healthcare Funding Case

    Federal government attorneys told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday that Indian Health Services might be forced to cut its budget by 40% if two Native American tribes prevail in their bids to uphold rulings that ordered they be reimbursed millions in administrative healthcare costs.

  • March 25, 2024

    Wash. Asks Judge To Undo Block Of ICE Detention Center Law

    Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has urged a federal judge to reconsider a recent ruling halting the state from conducting unannounced inspections and imposing new health and safety standards at an immigration detention facility, saying the decision "rests on legal error."

  • March 25, 2024

    DOJ Slammed For Backing GEO Group In Detainee Wage Fight

    A group of immigrant detainees has urged the Ninth Circuit to reject the federal government's stance that a privately run detention center in Tacoma is exempt from Washington's minimum wage, saying the United States has failed to point to any conflicting federal laws.

  • March 25, 2024

    5th Circ. Told Procurement Act Limits Biden's Wage Power

    The Biden administration lacks authority to implement a $15-per-hour minimum wage for government contractors, three Southern states told the Fifth Circuit, because the Procurement Act only empowers the executive branch to trim federal expenditures.

  • March 25, 2024

    DOJ Calls Probe Of Alleged SpaceX Hiring Bias Constitutional

    The U.S. Department of Justice has defended its investigation into allegations that SpaceX refused to hire asylum-seekers and refugees, telling a Texas federal judge that its authority stems from a constitutionally sound provision of federal immigration law barring workplace discrimination based on citizenship status.

  • March 25, 2024

    Texas Judge Extends Stay On Border Wall Funding Order

    A Texas federal judge briefly extended a pause on an injunction directing the Biden administration to use funding Congress appropriated to build physical barriers on the Southwest border for that purpose, as the administration asks for clarification of the order, saying it could otherwise make it hard to build anything.

  • March 25, 2024

    Justices Won't Review 11th Circ. $285M Arbitrator Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an Eleventh Circuit decision refusing to vacate $285 million in arbitral awards issued to the operator of the Panama Canal, a case that the petitioners said raised questions about the standard by which courts may nix awards over an arbitrator's "evident partiality."

  • March 22, 2024

    Up Next At High Court: Abortion, Jury Trials And Estate Tax

    The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this week over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision expanding access to popular abortion pill mifepristone as well as whether juries should determine a defendants' eligibility for repeat offender enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act and how long federal employees have to appeal adverse employment decisions.

  • March 22, 2024

    Watchdog Calls To Redo $896M Migrant Transport Deal

    The U.S. General Services Administration must redo an $896 million contract to transport unaccompanied migrant children, after a federal watchdog determined that the deal was awarded to a company whose proposed contract lead may be unqualified to oversee the contract.

  • March 22, 2024

    Prostitutes, Wiretaps, Payoffs: Key LA RICO Witness Tells All

    A witness in former Los Angeles deputy mayor Ray Chan's racketeering trial testified Friday about trying to boost his high-end cabinetry business by procuring prostitutes for a city council member, paying more than $150,000 in bribes and attempting to give a city official $10,000 at Chan's behest.

  • March 22, 2024

    Justices Asked To Review $36M Sanctions Order In TM Case

    A man who works in the field of marketing and ad copywriting has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a $36 million sanctions order against him and several companies in a trademark case.

  • March 22, 2024

    Boston Soccer Stadium Project Gets Green Light From Judge

    A plan by the city of Boston to turn a stadium inside historic Franklin Park over to a professional women's soccer team can continue moving forward, after a judge on Friday denied a requested injunction to halt it.

  • March 22, 2024

    Colo. City Wins $13.5M For Software Co.'s Trickery

    A Colorado federal judge says a software company that was found to have lied to secure a multimillion project with the city of Fort Collins must pay $13.5 million for the city's costs stemming from its fraud.

  • March 22, 2024

    Judge Cuts ICE Contractor, Keeps US In Medical Abuse Suit

    A Georgia federal judge on Friday left standing only a narrow sliver of class claims against the federal government from immigrant women alleging they underwent invasive, unnecessary medical procedures while in federal custody, dismissing the bulk of their lawsuit.

  • March 22, 2024

    States Say Prez Doesn't Have Power To Hike Contractor Pay

    Four states told the Ninth Circuit that the Biden administration's implementation of a $15-per-hour minimum wage for federal contractors was unlawful, arguing that the government misinterpreted a statement of statutory purpose as a mandate for broad regulatory authority.

  • March 22, 2024

    RTX Loses Second Dispute Over Contract Conflict Of Interest

    A Court of Federal Claims judge has tossed RTX Corp.'s lawsuit alleging it was wrongly excluded from a $54.1 million Navy anti-missile technology contract based on an employee's former Navy job, despite RTX's argument that there was no conflict of interest.

  • March 22, 2024

    Phone Cos., Counties Profit From Jail Visit Bans, Families Say

    Two prison telecommunications service providers have been hit with lawsuits in Michigan state court claiming they worked with jail operators to restrict in-person visits in order to boost their profits from lockup video and phone calls.

  • March 22, 2024

    Calif. Releases Interim Guidelines On GenAI Use

    The state of California on Thursday released interim guidelines for public-sector procurement, uses and training of generative artificial intelligence by state leaders in preparation for all state agencies to consider pilot projects using the technology by July, per Gov. Gavin Newsom's executive order issued last year.

  • March 21, 2024

    LA City Official Ran Secret Consulting Firm, RICO Jury Told

    Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan secretly ran an outside real estate consulting firm for years while still employed at City Hall and covertly worked to help get his client's planned $700 million hotel renovation approved, his former business partner testified Thursday at Chan's federal racketeering trial.

  • March 21, 2024

    10th Circ. Doubts Officers Can Get Redo In Training Attack

    A Tenth Circuit panel was skeptical Thursday that tactical officers at a Colorado supermax prison can challenge a trial court's decision not to hold an evidentiary hearing in a suit about a training exercise that turned violent, with one judge noting that the officers did not object at the time.

  • March 21, 2024

    DOL Says Prevailing Wage Rule Hasn't Hurt Construction Orgs

    The U.S. Department of Labor asked a Texas federal court to dismiss construction industry trade organizations' bid to unwind a 2023 rule revising prevailing wage methodologies for federal construction projects, saying the groups failed to assert viable injuries.

  • March 21, 2024

    GAO OKs Trade Compliance In Defense Container Deal

    The U.S. Government Accountability Office backed the Defense Logistics Agency's reliance on a contractor's certification that containers it was tapped to ship would use South Korean materials, rejecting a protester's contention the agency should have suspected materials would instead come from China.

Expert Analysis

  • Questions To Ask Before Drafting Proposals With AI

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    Before federal contractors adopt AI tools to simplify their proposal writing, they should ask questions about how a given AI tool’s model was developed, and consider the procedures they will need to avoid cookie-cutter submissions and ensure accuracy, privacy and security, among other practical and legal considerations, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • In-Office Engagement Is Essential To Associate Development

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    As law firms develop return-to-office policies that allow hybrid work arrangements, they should incorporate the specific types of in-person engagement likely to help associates develop attributes common among successful firm leaders, says Liisa Thomas at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Trends Emerge In High Court's Criminal Law Decisions

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    In its 2022-2023 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued nine merits decisions in criminal cases covering a wide range of issues, and while each decision is independently important, when viewed together, key trends and takeaways appear that will affect defendants moving forward, says Kenneth Notter at MoloLamken.

  • Perspectives

    A Judge's Pitch To Revive The Jury Trial

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    Ohio state Judge Pierre Bergeron explains how the decline of the jury trial threatens public confidence in the judiciary and even democracy as a whole, and he offers ideas to restore this sacred right.

  • How To Recognize And Recover From Lawyer Loneliness

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    Law can be one of the loneliest professions, but there are practical steps that attorneys and their managers can take to help themselves and their peers improve their emotional health, strengthen their social bonds and protect their performance, says psychologist and attorney Traci Cipriano.

  • Opinion

    Litigation Funding Disclosure Should Be Mandatory

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    Despite the Appellate Rules Committee's recent deferral of the issue of requiring third-party litigation funding disclosure, such a mandate is necessary to ensure the even-handed administration of justice across all cases, says David Levitt at Hinshaw.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Revalidation Unlikely To End NIH Tech-Deal Bid Protest Saga

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    Recent U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions requiring the National Institutes of Health to again rework a $50 billion information technology contract probably won't result in an award for many protesters, and the corrective action will likely be followed by more protests, say James Tucker and Damien Specht at MoFo.

  • It's Not You, It's Me: Breaking Up With Mass. FCA Prosecutors

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    A recent Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office settlement, which required a hospital to admit to certain facts, continues a state trend away from traditionally defense-friendly nonadmission language and may complicate the prospects of amicably resolving future False Claims Act cases, say Jonathan York and Scott Memmott at Morgan Lewis.

  • Contract Disputes Recap: Timeliness, Evidence, Fact-Finding

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    Edward Arnold and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth Shaw look at three recent opinions from three stages of government contract claims litigation about avoiding untimeliness by ticking procedural boxes, supporting factual positions at the summary judgment stage and how the appellate boards review default terminations.

  • Perspectives

    Mallory Gives Plaintiffs A Better Shot At Justice

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    Critics of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern claim it opens the door to litigation tourism, but the ruling simply gives plaintiffs more options — enabling them to seek justice against major corporations in the best possible court, say Rayna Kessler and Ethan Seidenberg at Robins Kaplan.

  • Why Justices' SuperValu Ruling Wasn't Quite A 'Seismic Shift'

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    Notwithstanding an early victory lap by the relators' bar, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. SuperValu Inc. was a win for both whistleblowers and sophisticated companies, but unfortunately left “subjective belief” to be interpreted by lower courts and future litigants, say attorneys at Baker Donelson.

  • Gov't Contractors Should Prep For Increased AI Scrutiny

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    As the U.S. Department of Defense considers how artificial intelligence development can be helpful or harmful to U.S. national defense, government contractors and industry actors can prepare for emerging guidance and requirements by looking at lessons learned from prior cybersecurity measures, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Courts Can Overturn Deficient State Regulations, Too

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    While suits challenging federal regulations have become commonplace, such cases against state agencies are virtually nonexistent, but many states have provisions that allow litigants to bring suit for regulations with inadequate cost-benefit analyses, says Reeve Bull at the Virginia Office of Regulatory Management.

  • Tales From The Trenches Of Remote Depositions

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    As practitioners continue to conduct depositions remotely in the post-pandemic world, these virtual environments are rife with opportunities for improper behavior such as witness coaching, scripted testimony and a general lack of civility — but there are methods to prevent and combat these behaviors, say Jennifer Gibbs and Bennett Moss at Zelle.

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