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Government Contracts
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June 18, 2024
Chastened Boeing CEO Vows Fixes In Harsh Senate Hearing
Boeing's chief steadfastly defended the company's commitment to safety, even as he acknowledged a breakdown in how certain managers responded to whistleblowers who had flagged past questionable design or manufacturing practices, as he endured a grueling public hearing before a Senate panel Tuesday.
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June 18, 2024
Claims Court Judges Say 'Less Is More' For Bid Protest Briefs
Court of Federal Claims judges said Tuesday that although the court allows generous page limits for briefs, attorneys should usually err on the side of brevity, focusing on their strongest arguments, or risk undermining their case.
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June 18, 2024
FTC Bristles At Axon's Citing Of Dropped Merger Case
The Federal Trade Commission wanted to ensure a New Jersey federal judge knew the abandonment of a case contesting Axon's purchase of a fellow police body camera company had nothing to do with the merits of the challenge, in a Monday amicus brief partially backing a proposed class action.
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June 18, 2024
CACI Can't Claim Costs For Bid To Dismiss $74.4M Navy Deal
A Virginia company can't recoup costs incurred while protesting a competitor's $74.4 million naval contract award after the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the objections to the award, some of which were dismissed, didn't clearly have merit.
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June 18, 2024
Hospital Board Says Feds Underpaid Claims By $17M
A Navajo Nation hospital board is suing the federal government, alleging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services underpaid its fiscal year 2016 funding request for contract support costs by $17.4 million without any legal justification.
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June 18, 2024
4th Circ. Says Filmmaker Has Right To Sealed Court Docs
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday revived a documentary filmmaker's bid to access sealed documents from a False Claims Act suit against student loan providers, finding he has a First Amendment right to the material and the parties must prove if the seal is warranted.
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June 18, 2024
GAO Rejects Claim CBP Rigged Migrant Facility Contract Bids
The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday denied a vendor's protest challenging the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's solicitation seeking vendors to provide an immigrant detention facility in North Eagle Pass, Texas, rejecting the protester's allegations that the solicitation process was rigged to unfairly favor an incumbent contractor.
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June 18, 2024
9th Circ. Won't Revive Vax Mandate Case Amid Judge DQ Bid
In a nonprecedential opinion, the Ninth Circuit has refused to restore a COVID vaccine mandate suit brought by federal workers and contractors who also sought to disqualify a judge they believed was conflicted, finding the workers lacked standing because they named officials who cannot reinstate them rather than their employers.
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June 17, 2024
Teva, DOJ Signal Key Kickback Case May Fizzle At 1st Circ.
A U.S. Department of Justice kickback case against Teva Pharmaceuticals — closely watched by False Claims Act lawyers because of its multibillion-dollar stakes and its link to a major circuit split — is poised for settlement, according to a new First Circuit filing ahead of eagerly awaited oral arguments.
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June 17, 2024
Amentum Rebuffs Air Force's $350K Damages For Staffing Fight
Amentum Services Inc. challenged the U.S. Air Force's efforts to claim $350,000 in damages over a staffing issue for a weapons maintenance deal, telling the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that the contract bars the damages claim.
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June 17, 2024
Ex-Stimwave CEO Gets 6 Years For Dummy Implant Scheme
The founder and former CEO of Stimwave Technologies was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after tearfully proclaiming her innocence to healthcare fraud charges, with a Manhattan federal judge saying it's "sad" the defendant doesn't recognize the harm she inflicted by selling nonfunctional pain management device components.
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June 17, 2024
Ginnie Mae, HUD Want Bank's Loan Lien Suit Sent To Dallas
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Ginnie Mae pushed for the transfer of Texas Capital Bank's suit in Texas federal court over a vacated loan lien, arguing that the bank is contractually required to file its suit in a different division within the same district.
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June 17, 2024
Consulting Firms To Pay $11.3M Over Rent Help Site Breach
A consulting firm and its subcontractor have agreed to pay $11.3 million to resolve a False Claims Act suit alleging that they allowed the personal data of low-income New Yorkers to be compromised while operating a pandemic-era rental assistance program website.
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June 17, 2024
L3Harris Rips Moog's Counterclaims In $78M Contract Suit
L3Harris Technologies Inc. urged a Florida federal court Friday to throw out breach of contract counterclaims from fellow defense contractor Moog Inc., which it has accused of failing to timely deliver critical satellite parts under several subcontracts worth $77.9 million.
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June 17, 2024
Mass. Dentist Indicted In Alleged $2M Medicaid Fraud
A Massachusetts dentist and her practice have been charged with fraudulently billing the state's Medicaid program, MassHealth, more than $2 million for services that were never provided.
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June 17, 2024
NJ Power Broker, Firm CEO Brother Accused Of Racketeering
Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III and his brother who is the chief executive officer of law firm Parker McCay have been criminally charged alongside others in a scheme to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden using threats of economic and reputational harm.
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June 17, 2024
Justices To Decide If False Claims Act Applies To E-Rate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review whether reimbursement requests made to the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program for schools and libraries are "claims" under the False Claims Act.
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June 17, 2024
Justices Will Hear Philly Bridge Project Fraud Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contractor's false promise to give a certain share of its business to minority-owned subcontractors rises to the level of depriving the state agency of property, the court announced Monday.
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June 17, 2024
Justices Reject Dispute Over $3.1B South Korean Military Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to consider the scope of commercial activities in a case brought by a brokerage firm fighting the loss of a $3.1 billion South Korean military satellite deal.
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June 14, 2024
Fla. Court Says Navy Vet Can Sue CNN For Punitive Damages
A Florida state appellate court has ruled that a Navy veteran turned private contractor can include punitive damages in his defamation lawsuit against CNN, saying he made a "sufficient preliminary evidentiary showing" of malice over the network's reporting on evacuating citizens of Afghanistan in 2021.
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June 14, 2024
Utah Gov. And Land Trust Beat Tribe's Bidding Suit, For Now
A federal judge dismissed claims against Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, several state officials and its trust lands administration in a tribe's challenge accusing them of spinning a racist bidding scheme to prevent it from winning a land auction to purchase land just outside its reservation.
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June 14, 2024
Janssen Hit With $150M Verdict In HIV Drug False Claims Suit
A New Jersey federal jury hit Janssen with a $150 million False Claims Act verdict in a 12-year-old whistleblower suit, finding that the drugmaker violated the federal law as well as 27 related state FCA statutes by illegally profiting from the off-label marketing of two popular Janssen HIV medications.
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June 14, 2024
Judge Grants New Trial In Abu Ghraib Torture Liability Case
A Virginia federal judge on Friday granted a new trial to victims of torture at the Abu Ghraib military prison in Iraq who have accused a CACI International unit of aiding and abetting their ordeal, after a jury deadlocked in the case.
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June 14, 2024
NJ Officials Stiffed Transit Contractor Over Politics, AG Says
Two board members of the South Jersey Transportation Authority have been charged for their role in allegedly blocking payments to a contractor as political retribution in a feud between a Democratic Party leader and a county commissioner, the New Jersey attorney general announced Friday.
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June 14, 2024
FAA Probes Fake Titanium Docs From Boeing Supplier
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that it's investigating whether certain Boeing Co. jets were manufactured with titanium components that may have been sold to the plane maker with falsified authenticity documents.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Feds' Biotech Enforcement Efforts Are Too Heavy-Handed
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent actions against biotech companies untether the Anti-Kickback Statute from its original legislative purpose, and threaten to stifle innovation and undermine patient quality of care, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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'Fat Leonard' Case Shows High Bar For Rescinding Guilty Plea
Prosecutors’ recent move in the “Fat Leonard” bribery case, supporting several defendants’ motions to withdraw their guilty pleas, is extremely unusual – and its contrast with other prosecutions demonstrates that the procedural safeguards at plea hearings are far from enough, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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How New Rule Would Change CFIUS Enforcement Powers
Before the May 15 comment deadline, companies may want to weigh in on proposed regulatory changes to enforcement and mitigation tools at the disposal of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, including broadened subpoena powers, difficult new mitigation timelines and higher maximum penalties, say attorneys at Venable.
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Series
Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Years of participation in swimming events, especially in the open water, have proven to be ideal preparation for appellate arguments in court — just as you must put your trust in the ocean when competing in a swim event, you must do the same with the judicial process, says John Kulewicz at Vorys.
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Mid-2024 FCA Enforcement And Litigation Trends To Watch
Reviewing notable False Claims Act trends and enforcement efforts in the last year and a half reveals that healthcare is a key enforcement priority for the U.S. Department of Justice, and the road ahead may bring clarification on Anti-Kickback Statute causation and willfulness standards, along with increased focus on private equity, cybersecurity and self-disclosure, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.
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What 100 Federal Cases Suggest About Changes To Chevron
With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn or narrow its 40-year-old doctrine of Chevron deference, a review of 100 recent federal district court decisions confirm that changes to the Chevron framework will have broad ramifications — but the magnitude of the impact will depend on the details of the high court's ruling, say Kali Schellenberg and Jon Cochran at LeVan Stapleton.
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Don't Use The Same Template For Every Client Alert
As the old marketing adage goes, consistency is key, but law firm style guides need consistency that contemplates variety when it comes to client alert formats, allowing attorneys to tailor alerts to best fit the audience and subject matter, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
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Series
Walking With My Dog Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Thanks to my dog Birdie, I've learned that carving out an activity different from the practice of law — like daily outdoor walks that allow you to interact with new people — can contribute to professional success by boosting creativity and mental acuity, as well as expanding your social network, says Sarah Petrie at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Follow The Iron Rule Of Trial Logic
Many diligent and eager attorneys include every good fact, point and rule in their trial narratives — spurred by the gnawing fear they’ll be second-guessed for leaving something out — but this approach ignores a fundamental principle of successful trial lawyering, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Unpacking The Interim Vet-Owned Small Biz Verification Rule
Government contractors that intend to bid for service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside contracts should immediately consider the potential impacts of a recently issued rule that specifies how contracting officers will verify that they have certified their status, say Derek Mullins and Beth Gotthelf at Butzel.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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McKesson May Change How AKS-Based FCA Claims Are Pled
The Second Circuit’s analysis in U.S. v. McKesson, an Anti-Kickback Statute-based False Claims Act case, provides guidance for both relators and defendants parsing scienter-related allegations, say Li Yu at Dicello Levitt, Ellen London at London & Stout, and Erica Hitchings at Whistleblower Law.
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Series
Being An Equestrian Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Beyond getting experience thinking on my feet and tackling stressful situations, the skills I've gained from horseback riding have considerable overlap with the skills used to practice law, particularly in terms of team building, continuing education, and making an effort to reset and recharge, says Kerry Irwin at Moore & Van Allen.
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Opinion
Cyber Regulators Should Rely On Existing Sources Cautiously
New incident reporting rules proposed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency illustrate how the use of definitions, standards and approaches from existing sources can create a complex patchwork of regulations, demonstrating that it is essential for agencies to be clear about expectations and not create unnecessary confusion, says Megan Brown at Wiley.