Government Contracts

October 30, 2024
AIG Tells Del. Justices Texas Medicaid Case 'Steeped In Fraud'

An attorney for insurers who brought a mid-case appeal in a tangled suit focused on a Texas Medicaid claims processor's battles over its alleged errors and omissions in orthodontia billings told Delaware's Supreme Court Wednesday that the original case was "steeped in fraud" and propped up by negligence claims.
October 30, 2024
Holtec Wins $6.9M Over Gov't's Failure To Store Nuclear Fuel

Nuclear plant operator Holtec Palisades LLC has been granted $6.9 million in damages after a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge found the federal government had breached an agreement to store spent nuclear fuel at the company's Michigan facility.
October 30, 2024
Gov't Contracts Of The Month: Uranium And Missile Detection

Over the past month, the Biden administration advanced plans to secure the nuclear energy supply chain with $3.5 billion worth of uranium enrichment contracts and added $1.8 billion to its next-generation missile detection program. Here are Law360's most note-worthy government contracts for October 2024.
October 30, 2024
3rd Circ. Vacates, Remands Philly Union Rule Suit

The Third Circuit revived a group of contractors' suit against Philadelphia and its mayor's office over the city's former policy requiring that companies working on public projects be members of certain designated unions, ruling that those contractors still have standing for injuries that arose while the rule was enforced.
October 29, 2024
'Breathtaking' Pentagon Leak Merits 16 Years, Feds Say

Prosecutors urged a federal judge on Tuesday to sentence a former Massachusetts Air National Guardsman to more than 16 years in prison for posting top secret military documents to the social media platform Discord, calling the crimes a historic and "breathtaking" betrayal of national security.
October 29, 2024
NYC Mayoral Straw Donor Scheme Sees Another Guilty Plea

A bookkeeper enmeshed in a straw donor scheme to benefit New York City Mayor Eric Adams' 2021 campaign copped to a violation on Tuesday as part of a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, effectively closing out the case.
October 29, 2024
6th Circ. Judge Doubts Airport Funding Made It Federal Agent

A Sixth Circuit judge on Tuesday said he saw "problems" with a Michigan airport's argument that federal grants had enough requirements to make the airport effectively a federal officer, suggesting it cannot litigate a suit over its PFAS-containing firefighting foam in federal court.
October 29, 2024
GAO Says Space Force Right To Deny Inmarsat Satellite Deal

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has denied a protest from satellite communications contractor Inmarsat over the U.S. Space Force's award of a $114.6 million contract for Ku-band satellite bandwidth and equipment, ruling that the government was justified in finding Inmarsat's proposal technically unacceptable.
October 29, 2024
Ex-ComEd GC Calls Madigan's Interest In Law Firm 'Strange'

A Jenner & Block LLP attorney and former Commonwealth Edison general counsel testified Tuesday that he found it "strange" to read ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan was interested in the granular details of the utility's negotiations with Chicago law firm Reyes Kurson. Madigan's counsel, however, appeared to suggest a confidant and co-defendant had name-dropped the speaker in 2016 without actually talking to him.
October 29, 2024
DOD Says Boeing Overcharged For Cargo Plane Spare Parts

The Department of Defense's Office of the Inspector General has issued a report finding that the Air Force overpaid about $1 million for spare parts in a contract with Boeing for C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft.
October 29, 2024
BOEM Holds Gulf Of Maine Wind Lease Sale

An offshore wind lease sale held Tuesday for the Gulf of Maine saw two provisional winners for four lease areas with the potential to power some 2.3 million homes, according to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
October 29, 2024
Kasowitz Defense Tech Trio Joins Pillsbury In DC

As investment in government contracts, defense, technology and cyber deals continues to increase, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has hired a trio of policy experts to its government law and strategies team in Washington to assist with lobbying support of U.S. allied-owned defense companies and other clients.
October 28, 2024
DC Circ. Won't Revisit Quinn Emanuel's $486M Award Fight

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP lost its bid to get the D.C. Circuit to reconsider its decision in a dispute over the firm's authority to represent a port operating in a long-running legal spat with the Republic of Djibouti, according to an order issued Monday by a divided panel of judges.
October 28, 2024
Gov't Says No Duty To Pay $69M In COVID Testing Claims

The Health Resources and Services Administration has urged the Court of Federal Claims to toss a lawsuit alleging the agency owes a laboratory $69 million in unpaid claims under a COVID-19 program for the uninsured, saying there was no contractual duty to pay.
October 28, 2024
NASA Says Sensor Co.'s Contract Breach Case Should Fail

NASA has said the U.S. Court of Federal Claims should throw out a sensor business's breach of contract suit over commercialization and licensing deals related to patented NASA technology, saying certain milestones couldn't be reached under the pact.
October 28, 2024
Flint Bellwether Delayed On Eve Of Trial, Again

A Michigan federal judge delayed Monday a bellwether trial set to determine if a water engineering firm was professionally negligent for its role in the Flint water crisis one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin and without explanation.
October 28, 2024
Pennsylvania Judge Yanks Delaware River Port Approvals

A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "arbitrarily and capriciously departed from its own procedures" in authorizing plans for a new port on the Delaware River in Delaware, downriver from Philadelphia, ordering the agency to conduct a closer review of the project.
October 28, 2024
Gov't Defends GSA's Ohio Office Lease Award

The federal government has urged the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to swat down a bid protest from a company claiming the General Services Administration unfairly awarded a 15-year office lease in Ohio to another company.
October 28, 2024
Feds Defend DEI Monitor Provision In Boeing Plea Deal

The U.S. Department of Justice said it will consider diversity and inclusion when it picks an independent compliance monitor for The Boeing Co. under a proposed plea agreement in the company's criminal conspiracy case, reassuring a Texas federal judge that the selection process will be rigorous.
October 25, 2024
Entergy Struggles To Challenge FERC Decision At DC Circ.

The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether or not utility giant Entergy will be allowed to challenge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's rejection of a plan that would change capacity market rules, after finding that it would give Entergy too much market power.
October 25, 2024
DC Circ. Could Nix OK Of $8M Equatorial Guinea Award

The D.C. Circuit on Friday appeared willing to consider nixing enforcement of an $8 million arbitral award against Equatorial Guinea issued in a dispute over an ill-fated hospital operating contract, even as the panel spent much of a hearing focusing on the impact of a decade-old U.S. Supreme Court decision.
October 25, 2024
AT&T Unit Continues To Argue FCA Does Not Apply To E-Rate

Congress could have designed the E-rate program to be distributed by the government using its own money, but it didn't, and that's why reimbursements under the program don't qualify as claims under the False Claims Act, an AT&T subsidiary has told the U.S. Supreme Court.
October 25, 2024
Green Group Blames NJ For Decline In Sturgeon Population

The state of New Jersey isn't doing enough to prevent the accidental catching of endangered fish, activists said in a lawsuit accusing the state's Department of Environmental Protection of violating the Endangered Species Act.
October 25, 2024
Claims Court Can't Hear DOJ IT Deal Corrective Action Case

A Court of Federal Claims judge has tossed a dispute over the scope of the U.S. Department of Justice's corrective action on an information technology task order, saying the case fell within a statutory bar on most task order-related protests.
October 25, 2024
Tenn. Hospitals Want Former Execs Nixed From Kickback Row

A hospital system on Friday urged a North Carolina federal court to dismiss whistleblower claims from former executives alleging the system excessively paid physicians to make referrals in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid money.

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

How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.
Suspension And Debarment: FY 2024 By The Numbers

The multiyear, downward trend in suspensions and debarments of government contractors continued in fiscal year 2024, largely fueled by a sharp decrease in exclusions of individuals — a welcome development that may indicate recognition that these actions can be more punitive than prophylactic, says David Robbins at Jenner & Block.
Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.
Opinion

Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
Why Diversity Jurisdiction Poses Investment Fund Hurdles

Federal courts' continued application of the exacting rules of diversity jurisdiction presents particular challenges for investment funds, and in the absence of any near-term reform, those who manage such funds should take action to avoid diversity jurisdiction pitfalls, say attorneys at Sher Tremonte.
Comments Show Need For Clarity On SBA Proposed Rule

The recent public comments period for the Small Business Administration's proposed rule on recertification and other regulations underscores the need for more precision, particularly on agreements in principle, which the SBA should address as it moves forward with this rulemaking, say attorneys at Covington.
Series

Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.
GAO Decision Offers Insights On Verifying TAA Compliance

The U.S. Government Accountability Office's August decision in Matter of: HPI Federal LLC serves as a reminder of the importance of verifying Trade Agreements Act compliance — and of understanding the parameters of an agency's acceptance of an offeror's TAA representation, say Amy Hoang and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth.
3 Takeaways From Navy Shipbuilder's Fraud Guilty Plea

Austal USA’s recent plea agreement over accounting fraud charges highlights for other companies the benefits of cooperating with government investigations, the challenges posed by senior executives’ involvement in misconduct, and the high stakes for defense contractors, say Michael DeBernardis and Shayda Vance at Hughes Hubbard.
Opinion

Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits

With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.
How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program

During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.
Series

Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
Next Steps For FCA Defendants After Fla. Qui Tam Ruling

Because a Florida federal court's recent decision in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates could eventually prove to be a watershed event for False Claims Act suits, defendants should consider potential next steps to ensure that their litigation benefits from the court's reasoning and further developments, says Scott Gallisdorfer at Bass Berry.
Compliance Pointers For Amended Pa. Data Breach Law

Recent updates to the Pennsylvania Breach of Personal Information Notification Act include a requirement that organizations alert the state's attorney general of certain consumer data breach notifications, and several incident response and cybersecurity considerations will be necessary to ensure compliance, say Matthew Meade and Laura Decker at Eckert Seamans.