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Government Contracts
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May 30, 2024
King & Spalding Adds Litigation Co-Lead From V&E
King & Spalding LLP has hired Vinson & Elkins LLP's former commercial litigation group co-lead to join the firm in New York as a partner, the firm announced Thursday.
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May 30, 2024
DOL Says Challenged Provision In DBA Rule Is Lawful
The U.S. Department of Labor pressed a Texas federal court not to halt its final rule regulating prevailing wages under the Davis-Bacon Act, saying that one of the provisions several construction groups are challenging is completely lawful.
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May 29, 2024
Honeywell Ends Suit Over $8.75M Bond For Army Base Work
A Pennsylvania federal court has approved a request from Honeywell International Inc. to drop its lawsuit over an $8.75 million performance bond whose issuer allegedly balked at paying to replace a bankrupt subcontractor for a long-delayed job at the Tobyhanna Army Depot.
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May 29, 2024
FCC Chief Floats Plan To Cut Down On Orbital Satellite Debris
The Federal Communications Commission's chair proposed new rules Wednesday aiming to reduce the chances of spacecraft explosions that leave debris in orbit.
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May 29, 2024
GAO Claims Jurisdiction And Denies Novel AI Protest
The U.S. Government Accountability Office ruled it had the authority to hear a novel dispute over a company's exclusion from an Army prize competition for artificial intelligence technology because the competition could have eventually led to a contract, but ultimately rejected the protest.
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May 29, 2024
Texas Judge Bans Using $1.4B Border Wall Funds For Repairs
A Texas federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked the White House from using $1.4 billion of border wall construction funding for barrier repair, rejecting requests from landowners, contractors and environmental groups to reconsider the scope of the ban.
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May 29, 2024
Acting Boston US Atty Says Fraud Cases Still High Priority
Prosecuting a range of fraud cases despite finite resources will remain a priority for Massachusetts acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy as he enters his second year in the job, he told reporters on Wednesday in a question and answer session at his office.
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May 29, 2024
Whistleblower Counsel Can't Get 'Exorbitant' $11.5M Fee
A Boston federal judge slashed an "exorbitant" $11.5 million fee request made by counsel for a False Claims Act whistleblower in a case involving lab testing company Fresenius Medical Care, hammering the attorneys for inflated hourly rates, inflated time entries and a host of questionable billing practices.
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May 28, 2024
Orsted Inks $125M Deal With NJ Over Scrapped Wind Farms
Orsted, a Danish wind energy company, has agreed to pay New Jersey $125 million to settle claims over the company's abrupt cancellation last fall of two offshore wind farms.
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May 28, 2024
White House Looks To Boost Carbon Credit Market Integrity
The Biden administration on Tuesday released new guidelines for voluntary carbon markets, touting the measures as a foundation for "ambitious and credible climate action" that also attempts to address questions about the integrity of credits that companies use to show a greener footprint.
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May 28, 2024
States, Greens Want Judgment Over USPS' New Vehicle Plan
Environmentalists and a coalition of 17 states called on a California federal judge to grant them judgment in litigation alleging the U.S. Postal Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act when it decided to replace its aging delivery fleet with "gas-guzzling vehicles."
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May 28, 2024
GSA Audit Authority Ruling Bars Crowley Suit Over DOD Deal
A Court of Federal Claims judge has rejected Crowley Government Services Inc.'s protest over the terms of a U.S. Transportation Command solicitation for freight services, saying the company effectively attempted to relitigate an already decided dispute over the General Services Administration's audit authority.
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May 28, 2024
Conn. Judge Asks If 'Sham' Exception Saves Stadium Fight
A Connecticut appellate judge asked Tuesday if a "sham" exception to limits on government contracting lawsuits can restore claims that the city of Hartford ran a fake bidding process for the redevelopment of Dillon Stadium, but counsel for several defendants pushed back and said it would not apply to the facts of the case.
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May 28, 2024
$3.1B Satellite Deal Needs Justices' Review, Co. Says
A broker accusing Lockheed Martin and Airbus of cutting it from a $3.1 billion military satellite deal opposed the Biden administration's contention that a U.S. Supreme Court review isn't needed, saying the administration incorrectly focused on an underlying F-35 deal.
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May 28, 2024
Mich. Atty Can't Have Dominion Info, Pa. Court Told
Dominion Voting Systems told a Pennsylvania state court Tuesday that information copied from election machines as part of a county's fraud probe was "fruit of the poisonous tree" and can't be shared with a Michigan attorney who has been in hot water for allegedly accessing other states' machine data and releasing the privileged information.
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May 24, 2024
SEC Hits Back At SolarWinds' 'Distortion' Allegations
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent a letter to a New York federal judge Friday pushing back on SolarWinds Corp.'s accusations that it was overstating and distorting its case against the government contractor over a data hack, saying its complaint is "well-grounded in facts" uncovered during its investigation.
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May 24, 2024
Claims Court Won't Toss $1.1M Breach Suit Against Navy
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims won't free the U.S. Navy from a $1.1 million breach-of-contract case from an engineering contractor, saying its handling of indirect and billing rates potentially amounted to a breach.
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May 24, 2024
Contractor Entitled To Share In Navy Savings, Board Rules
The U.S. Navy must share with a construction contractor savings resulting from the contractor's changes to a design-build task order, after the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ruled the Navy constructively accepted the contractor's proposal for the money-saving changes.
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May 24, 2024
HNTB's Liability Capped In Seattle Tunnel Delay Claim
A contract clause caps engineering firm HNTB Corp.'s potential liability over a long-delayed Seattle highway tunnel project, a Washington state court judge ruled Friday, likely dashing a joint venture's bid to recover more than $700 million.
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May 24, 2024
Staff Squeeze May Be Limiting Small Biz Roles In Procurement
The federal government has introduced several strategies over the last decade to help small businesses vie for procurement contracts, but overstretched acquisition staff may have limited capacity to deploy these strategies and reverse a downward trend in small business participation.
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May 24, 2024
Green Groups Lose In California Fish Protection Lawsuit
The federal government properly considered the needs of fish protected under the Endangered Species Act when it approved water supply contracts for California's Central Valley Project, the Ninth Circuit said in a ruling rejecting environmental groups' claims to the contrary.
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May 24, 2024
Navy Owes Crane Contractor $5M After Refusing Proposed Fix
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ruled that the U.S. Navy must pay a Konecranes ABP unit roughly $4.9 million after the Navy wrongly refused to accept a proposed fix for problems discovered before delivery of a crane.
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May 24, 2024
Biden's Judicial Impact And What's Left On The Wish List
President Joe Biden secured confirmation of his 200th federal judge Wednesday and has transformed the judiciary by picking more women and people of color than any other president. But the upcoming election season could derail his hopes of confirming many more judges.
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May 24, 2024
Union Carbide To Pay EPA $600K For Colo. Superfund Site
Union Carbide Corp. and the federal government filed a $600,000 proposed settlement in Colorado federal court, resolving claims the company and its subsidiary owed more than $1.2 million in reimbursement costs connected to the cleanup of hazardous chemicals at a former uranium and vanadium processing facility.
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May 24, 2024
Biden Urges 1st Circ. To Find Debt Cap Challenge Moot
The Biden administration asked the First Circuit to affirm a finding that a government workers' union lacks standing to challenge the debt ceiling's constitutionality and that its case was further rendered moot by passage of a deal to suspend the spending limit until January.
Expert Analysis
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AI Use May Trigger False Claims Act's Public Disclosure Bar
The likely use of publicly available artificial intelligence tools to detect government fraud by combing through large data sets will raise complex questions about a False Claims Act provision that prohibits the filing of claims based on previously disclosed information, say Nick Peterson and Spencer Brooks at Wiley Rein.
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Biden Climate Push Expands With Contractor GHG Focus
President Joe Biden's recent announcement that federal agencies will consider contractors' greenhouse gas emissions when making procurement decisions demonstrates his administration's continued interest in using government contracting as a vehicle for reducing climate-related impacts — a theme first established in the early months of his term, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Unpacking GAO's FY 2023 Bid Protest Report
The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recent bid protest report reflects an increase in sustained protests, illustrating that disappointed offerors may see little reason to refrain from seeking corrective action — but there is more to the story, say Aron Beezley and Patrick Quigley at Bradley Arant.
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How Biden's AI Order Stacks Up Against Calif. And G7 Activity
Evaluating the federal AI executive order alongside the California AI executive order and the G7's Hiroshima AI Code of Conduct can offer a more robust picture of key risks and concerns companies should proactively work to mitigate as they build or integrate artificial intelligence tools into their products and services, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Closer Look At Proposed HHS Research Misconduct Rule
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' proposed updates to its policies on research misconduct codify many well-known best practices, but also contain some potential surprises for the research community and counsel, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Suspension And Debarment: FY 2023 By The Numbers
A comparative analysis of System for Award Management data, culminating with fiscal year 2023, reveals a year-over-year drop in annual suspension and debarment numbers so significant as to leave the government contracting community trying to figure out what is happening, says David Robbins at Jenner & Block.
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Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes
Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.
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Contracts Disputes Recap: Expect Strict Application Of Rules
Zachary Jacobson and Sarah Barney at Seyfarth examine four recent cases highlighting the importance, for both contractors and government agencies, of strict compliance with the Contract Disputes Act’s jurisdictional requirements and with the Federal Acquisition Regulation's remedy-granting clauses.
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Unpacking The FAR Council's Cybersecurity Rules Proposal
New reporting and information sharing requirements in the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed cybersecurity regulations would create new False Claims Act enforceability risks, and could be a focus for the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative, say Townsend Bourne and Lillia Damalouji at Sheppard Mullin.
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Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys
Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.
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Series
Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'
The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Deference Limit, Close-At-Hand Doctrine
In this month's bid protest roundup, Roke Iko at MoFo examines a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims about the parameters of agency deference, and one from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that highlights the risk to offerors of relying heavily on evaluators’ prior knowledge.
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New DOJ Roles Underscore National Security Focus
The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent creation of two new leadership positions signals to the private sector that federal law enforcement is pouring resources into corporate investigations to identify potential national security violations, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.