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Government Contracts
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July 10, 2024
GOP Bombards Agencies With Demands After Chevron's End
Republican leaders of major congressional committees Wednesday demanded details from dozens of agencies on policies suddenly shrouded in uncertainty after U.S. Supreme Court conservatives overturned the so-called Chevron doctrine, which for 40 years gave regulators flexibility in rulemaking and advantages in related litigation.
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July 10, 2024
Engineer Who Faced Export Charges Cops To Tax Counts
A Chinese-born engineer has pled guilty to two counts of filing a false tax return related to allegations that he and his wife omitted gross income from their tax returns between 2015 and 2019, after Texas federal prosecutors initially charged the couple with export violations and fraud.
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July 10, 2024
Drug Test Co. Pays $1M To Settle Medicare Fraud Claims
A Los Angeles drug testing lab will pay at least $1 million to settle claims it doubled-billed Medicare for toxicology tests for people undergoing treatment for opioid use disorder, Boston federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
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July 09, 2024
Pharma Co. Fined $16.9M For Fake Scripts, Ex-VP Arrested
A subsidiary of bankrupt DMK Pharmaceuticals Corp. faces a $16.9 million criminal fine after pleading guilty to conspiring in a scheme to ship drugs using false prescriptions, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday, adding that the subsidiary's former vice president of sales was also arrested.
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July 09, 2024
4th Circ. Finds No Judicial Bias In DOD Contractor's Sentence
The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a nine-year prison sentence for a North Carolina woman who fraudulently obtained military contracts valued at over $2.2 million, rejecting her argument that the district judge should've recused himself for bias and calling his admonishment during her sentencing "'ordinary,' albeit strongly worded."
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July 09, 2024
IT Firm Accuses Feds Of Unjustifiably Canceling Deal
A Virginia information technology firm sued the federal government over a corrective action that saw the U.S. General Services Administration revoking a "game-changing" $22.6 million order, saying the agency offered no explanation for the cancellation.
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July 09, 2024
Indicted Ex-Conn. Official Drops Greece Vacation Plan
Ex-Connecticut budget official Konstantinos "Kosta" Diamantis on Tuesday dropped his request for a federal judge's permission to travel to Greece while he is under indictment, withdrawing his motion one day after prosecutors objected.
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July 09, 2024
'Stop Right There': Judge Slams King County Deportation Args
A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday criticized King County's argument that its executive order banning deportation flights from a Seattle airport did not force a fuel supplier to stop servicing the flights, with one judge calling it preposterous.
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July 09, 2024
Terrorism Victims Push To Keep Pharma Suit In DC Circ.
Terrorism victims warned the D.C. Circuit against sending to a lower court a lawsuit seeking to link pharmaceutical companies to the attacks that injured them, saying a remand could delay the case and frustrate their efforts to collect evidence.
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July 09, 2024
Aetna Beats Blue Cross In NC Health Plan Contract Battle
An administrative judge affirmed North Carolina's switch of its employee and retiree health plan to Aetna, reasoning Blue Cross Blue Shield failed to prove state officials made errors favoring the competitor when evaluating bids.
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July 09, 2024
Boeing, DOJ Say 737 Max Families Can't Rush Monitor Pick
Boeing has told a Texas federal judge that 737 Max crash victims' families cannot rush the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee the company's safety and compliance efforts, saying its new tentative plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice adequately addresses the monitorship issue.
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July 09, 2024
Gov't Missed Merck Vax Potency Problem, 3rd Circ. Told
Two whistleblowers claiming that Merck & Co. had exaggerated the potency of its mumps vaccine told a Third Circuit panel Tuesday that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's continued purchasing of the vaccine was not proof that the agency knew but didn't care about the alleged deception.
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July 09, 2024
DOD Likely To Need More Time To Nix PFAS Firefighting Foam
The Department of Defense will likely need a two-year extension on its deadline to fully stop using firefighting foam containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," according to a Government Accountability Office report detailing steps the DOD has taken to transition away from the material.
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July 09, 2024
'ComEd Four' To Renew Acquittal Bid After Bribery Ruling
An Illinois federal judge effectively pushed the next ruling in the criminal case against former Commonwealth Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore and her three co-defendants to at least winter, as the defendants vowed to renew their acquittal bid in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling finding that federal bribery law doesn't criminalize rewards given after an official act.
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July 09, 2024
Newman Loses Suit Against Fed. Circ. Over Suspension
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman filed against her colleagues over her suspension for refusing to undergo medical tests, saying she failed to prove the judicial conduct law at issue is unconstitutional.
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July 09, 2024
NJ Power Broker, Firm CEO Deny Racketeering Charges
Powerful New Jersey businessman George E. Norcross III, his prominent attorney brother and others on Tuesday denied that they schemed to acquire waterfront property in the distressed city of Camden by threatening to ruin the business reputations and finances of key stakeholders.
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July 09, 2024
Defense Dept. Sticks With Sentinel, Despite Program's Costs
The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing ahead with its new intercontinental ballistic missile project, with its contracting chief saying the program's importance to national security outweighs its ballooning costs.
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July 08, 2024
What's In Boeing's Tentative 737 Max Plea Deal With DOJ
Boeing's willingness to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud U.S. regulators over the 737 Max 8's development is a rare mea culpa from an embattled American aerospace titan eager to rebuild public trust after six years of overlapping government investigations, production pauses and mounting litigation.
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July 08, 2024
Boeing's Federal Contracts At Risk After Guilty Plea
Boeing's guilty plea for fraud related to the safety of its 737 Max 8 commercial aircraft will trigger additional scrutiny for a possible suspension or debarment from federal contracting, potentially putting lucrative future contracts at risk for the company.
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July 08, 2024
Migrants Want Another Try In Martha's Vineyard Flight Suit
Several migrants who claim they were tricked into boarding flights to Martha's Vineyard have asked a Massachusetts federal judge to let them file an amended suit in an effort to cure the jurisdictional issues that doomed the initial complaint in March.
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July 08, 2024
Chinese Student Pleads Guilty To Espionage Drone Pics
A Chinese national previously enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Minnesota pleaded guilty Monday in Virginia federal court to two misdemeanors under the Espionage Act for taking unauthorized photos with a drone of shipbuilding yards that contained classified U.S. military vessels.
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July 08, 2024
Ga. County Won't 'Sit On Its Hindquarters' In Battery Fire Fight
A Georgia county suing a battery manufacturer for a massive fire allegedly sparked by the illegal dumping of lithium-ion cells urged a Georgia federal judge Friday to spike the company's "absurd" bid to dismiss the suit, calling the effort "premature and meritless."
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July 08, 2024
Philly Charter School Exec Sentenced To 1½ Years In Prison
Shahied Dawan, a former nonprofit executive for a Philadelphia charter school and low-income housing nonprofit founded by R&B producer Kenny Gamble, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday for conspiring to conceal embezzlement from the organization.
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July 08, 2024
Amazon Must Face Podcast Defamation Suit, ICE Doc Says
A former physician at a Georgia immigration facility who says he was falsely accused of performing forced hysterectomies on detainees has urged a federal judge not to let Amazon and podcast publisher Wondery distance themselves from a podcast episode that dubbed him "The Uterus Collector."
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July 08, 2024
Ex-Prosecutor Takes GC Role For Mass. Inspector General
Eugenia M. "Genie" Carris, a veteran federal public corruption prosecutor, has jumped to the Massachusetts inspector general's office as general counsel, the agency announced Monday.
Expert Analysis
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Grant Compliance Takeaways From Ga. Tech's FCA Settlement
Georgia Tech’s recent False Claims Act settlement over its failure to detect compliance shortcomings in a grant program was unique in that it involved a voluntary repayment of funds prior to the resolution, offering a few key lessons for universities receiving research funding from the government, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Series
Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.
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ASBCA Ruling May Pave Way For Pandemic-Related Claims
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ recent decision that the government failed to meet its evidentiary burden when it sought dismissal under the sovereign acts doctrine offers hope to contractors and subcontractors that faced performance challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, say Edward Arnold and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth.
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Opinion
White Collar Plea Deals Are Rarely 'Knowing' And 'Voluntary'
Because prosecutors are not required to disclose exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations, white collar defendants often enter into plea deals that don’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s “knowing” and “voluntary” standard for trials — but individual courts and solutions judges could rectify the issue, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.
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EEO-1 Ruling May Affect Other Gov't Agency Disclosures
By tightly construing a rarely litigated but frequently asserted term, a California federal court’s ruling that the Freedom of Information Act does not exempt reports to the U.S. Department of Labor on workplace demographics could expand the range of government contractor information susceptible to public disclosure, says John Zabriskie at Foley & Lardner.
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2 SEC Orders Illuminate Bribery Risks For US-China Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s foreign bribery-related resolutions with 3M and Clear Channel offer important takeaways on compliance risks for companies with operations in China, from the role of traditionally low-risk vendors to gaps in internal accounting controls, say attorneys at Miller & Chevalier.
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The Legal Industry Needs A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift
As law firms face ever-increasing risks of cyberattacks and ransomware incidents, the legal industry must implement robust cybersecurity measures and privacy-centric practices to preserve attorney-client privilege, safeguard client trust and uphold the profession’s integrity, says Ryan Paterson at Unplugged.
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5 Reasons Associates Shouldn't Take A Job Just For Money
As a number of BigLaw firms increase salary scales for early-career attorneys, law students and lateral associates considering new job offers should weigh several key factors that may matter more than financial compensation, say Albert Tawil at Lateral Hub and Ruvin Levavi at Power Forward.
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Contract Disputes Recap: Jurisdictional Challenges
Stephanie Magnell and Bret Marfut at Seyfarth examine three recent cases illustrating that, on top of being comprehensive and well-considered, claims submitted to contracting officers must be prepared to withstand future government motions to dismiss appeals for lack of jurisdiction.
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New SDNY Whistleblower Program May Be A Game-Changer
A new pilot program in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York promises to immunize from prosecution certain individuals who blow the whistle on financial crimes and corruption, and if similar self-disclosure programs are any indication, this significant new policy may measurably increase white collar investigations, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.
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Series
Playing Competitive Tennis Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My experience playing competitive tennis has highlighted why prioritizing exercise and stress relief, maintaining perspective under pressure, and supporting colleagues in pursuit of a common goal are all key aspects of championing a successful legal career, says Madhumita Datta at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Djerassi On Super Bowl 52
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Ramy Djerassi discusses how Super Bowl 52, in which the Philadelphia Eagles prevailed over the New England Patriots, provides an apt metaphor for alternative dispute resolution processes in commercial business cases.
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Ex-OpenSea Staffer Case May Clarify When Info Is Property
In considering the appeal of a former OpenSea manager’s wire fraud conviction in U.S. v. Chastain, the Second Circuit may soon provide guidance about whether economic information is traditional property in certain insider trading prosecutions — a theory of fraud that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly narrowed, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Takeaways From SEC's Aggressive Cybersecurity Moves
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's intensifying policy on cybersecurity and securities violations in the wake of a data breach — like its enforcement action against SolarWinds and its security officer — has emboldened shareholders to file related suits, creating a heightened threat to public companies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Supplementation, Conversion, Rejection
In this month's bid protest roundup, Lyle Hedgecock and Michaela Thornton at MoFo discuss recent cases highlighting how the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims consider supplementation of the record and an agency’s attempt to convert a sealed bid opportunity into a negotiated procurement, as well as an example of precedential drift.