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Government Contracts
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July 29, 2024
Feds Say Tenn., NC Hospitals Overpaid Doctors For Referrals
A Tennessee-based hospital system violated the False Claims Act by taking $27.8 million in public healthcare allotments while overpaying doctors, sometimes by three times the average physician's pay, to make internal referrals, according to a lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice has joined.
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July 29, 2024
County's Pipeline Sinkhole Suit Too Late, Contractor Says
A construction company says a Washington state court should toss a breach of contract suit linked to a public sewer pipeline project that allegedly triggered sinkholes along a Seattle canal, saying the claims brought by a Washington county are barred by the state's six-year statute of repose for construction.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Blocks Medical Records Co.'s Anti-Bot Captchas
A Maryland federal judge on Monday enjoined electronic medical records company PointClickCare from blocking nursing home analytics company Real Time Medical Systems from accessing patient data with automated bots, saying PCC's firewall wasn't justified by concerns over security or system speed.
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July 29, 2024
USPS Backs Oshkosh's Sealing Bid In New Vehicle Plan Case
The U.S. Postal Service on Friday backed Oshkosh Defense's request to seal their confidential supplier contract terms in litigation challenging the agency's decision to replace its aging delivery fleet with only 62% electric vehicles, arguing rivals could use the information to undercut the USPS when negotiating their own supplier contracts.
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July 29, 2024
GAO Nixes Claims That Biz Lost $6.9M Deal Due To Gov't Error
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has rejected a contractor's claims that the U.S. Department of the Interior misattributed the contractor's bid for a $6.9 million janitorial contract to an ineligible affiliate, saying the submission identified the contractor as the bidder only once.
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July 29, 2024
Watchdog Says Zoom Call Doesn't Warrant Nixing $25.3M Deal
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has refused to undo a $25.3 million contract to support the National Institutes of Health, unconvinced that the agency had revealed a bidder's proprietary information during a Zoom call with the eventual contract winner.
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July 29, 2024
Boehringer Appeals HHS Win In Medicare Drug Price Suit
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. notified a Connecticut federal court Friday that it will appeal its loss in a lawsuit challenging a new Medicare drug price negotiation program on the grounds that it unlawfully compels the pharmaceutical giant to declare prices "fair," takes its property and imposes an excessive fine.
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July 26, 2024
Apple Commits To White House Guidelines For Responsible AI
Apple Inc. has signed onto the Biden administration's voluntary guidelines for "responsible" artificial intelligence innovation, joining the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Google LLC, Microsoft Corp. and a dozen other leading tech companies, the White House announced Friday.
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July 26, 2024
Smartmatic Asks Court To Order Fox Exec To Answer Subpoena
A new front in the war between Smartmatic and Fox News has opened up in Florida, as the voting technology company is asking a Miami court to force a Fox News board member to respond to a subpoena issued in its $2.7 billion defamation suit in New York.
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July 26, 2024
GAO Says Peraton Premature On Unfair GSA Probe Claims
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has tossed Peraton Inc.'s protest alleging the General Services Administration acted unfairly during corrective action on a task order for Army intelligence services, saying the dispute was premature.
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July 26, 2024
RTX Earmarks $1.2B For Anticipated Deals With DOJ, SEC
RTX Corp., formerly known as Raytheon, said it has set aside more than $1.2 billion for anticipated deferred prosecution agreements and other deals with U.S. regulators stemming from investigations that include allegations of improper payments tied to contracts in the Middle East.
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July 26, 2024
9th Circ. Says Online Posts Can Count As Work Harassment
The Ninth Circuit breathed new life into a psychologist's suit alleging the Federal Bureau of Prisons failed to stop a correctional officer from creating sexist and threatening social media posts about her, ruling a lower court erroneously determined the online content didn't amount to workplace harassment.
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July 25, 2024
Boeing's 737 Max Plea Deal: Monitorship, Gov't Contracts
Boeing will be branded with a felony criminal conviction after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud U.S. regulators over the 737 Max 8's development, an ignominious distinction with fresh complications for the embattled American aerospace titan as it overhauls its corporate culture under a compliance monitorship.
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July 25, 2024
IT Firm Says $1.5M Commerce Award Redo Not Routine
An IT consulting firm challenging a U.S. Department of Commerce corrective action on a $1.5 billion information technology deal made during ongoing bid protests told the Federal Circuit that the agency is undercutting its own position by claiming that such moves are routine.
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July 25, 2024
11th Circ. Revives FCA Dispute Over Small Biz Contracts
The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday revived a whistleblower False Claims Act case alleging new owners of a construction firm fraudulently secured orders under a program for disadvantaged small businesses, saying those owners should have told the Small Business Administration about the ownership switch.
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July 25, 2024
Watchdog Says $30.2M IT Contract Holder Didn't Overedit Bid
The U.S. Government Accountability Office upheld the U.S. Space Force's $30.2 million IT deal, rejecting claims that the eventual award-holder had revised too much of its bid after being allowed to alter parts of its proposal.
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July 25, 2024
4th Man Gets Jail In NYC Public Housing Anti-Bribery Sweep
A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday sentenced a former New York City public housing superintendent to 19 months in prison for accepting $95,000 in bribes, bringing to four the number of people sentenced to time behind bars in the 70-defendant anti-corruption sweep.
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July 25, 2024
Edible Cannabis Co. Can't Revive RFID Tag Case
A Colorado state judge has said he won't let a company that makes edible cannabis continue to challenge the state's mandated use of radio frequency identification tracking tags, concluding that a senior enforcement official's statement at a rulemaking hearing was not a final action the company could appeal.
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July 25, 2024
Watchdog Backs $77.8M DOD Deal Over Ethics Concern
The U.S. Government Accountability Office tossed claims that the U.S. Department of Defense's $77.8 million audit services order was tainted by an official's prior work for the awardee, Deloitte & Touche LLP, saying the DOD correctly dismissed the conflict claims after a thorough investigation.
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July 25, 2024
USDA Drops Push To Certify Contractors' Labor Compliance
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday scrapped from a proposed rule requirements for federal contractors to attest that they were following federal and state labor laws, tossing President Barack Obama's efforts an earlier version of the rule revamped.
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July 25, 2024
DP World Wins OK Of $194M Award Against Djibouti
A D.C. federal judge entered a $194.3 million judgment against the Republic of Djibouti, enforcing an arbitration award secured by a Dubai-based port terminal operator in a long-running legal battle over an international container terminal in the East African country.
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July 24, 2024
Boeing, DOJ Finalize 737 Max Plea Deal
The Boeing Co. has finalized its agreement to plead guilty to conspiring to defraud safety regulators about the 737 Max 8's development, avoiding a criminal trial over a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, according to a U.S. Department of Justice court filing Wednesday evening.
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July 24, 2024
Co. Wants Gov't Sanctioned For Late Docs In Contract Dispute
A contractor for the U.S. Air Force has urged the Court of Federal Claims to sanction the government after allegedly providing documents late and destroying other documents related to the company's suit alleging the Air Force wrongly terminated a support contract.
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July 24, 2024
Naval Engineers Urge 4th Circ. To Revive No-Poach Suit
A pair of former naval engineers have urged the Fourth Circuit to revive their proposed class action accusing military shipbuilding contractors and related firms of using secret "no-poach" agreements, saying their suit was wrongly ruled untimely amid a cover-up of the alleged scheme.
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July 24, 2024
Ex-US Army Worker Gets 15 Years For $109M Fraud Scheme
A former U.S. Army civilian employee will spend 15 years in prison for stealing nearly $109 million from a grant program meant for military dependents and their families to buy a fleet of luxury vehicles, jewelry and houses, federal prosecutors announced.
Expert Analysis
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Unwitting Disclosure, Agency Deference
Roke Iko at MoFo examines two U.S. Court of Federal Claims decisions highlighting factors to consider before filing a protest alleging Procurement Integrity Act violations, and a decision from the U.S. Government Accountability Office about the capacity of an agency to interpret its own solicitation terms.
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Global Bribery Probes Are Complicating FCPA Compliance
The recent rise in collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and foreign authorities in bribery enforcement can not only affect companies' legal exposure as resolution approaches vary by country, but also the decision of when and whether to disclose Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations to the DOJ, say Samantha Badlam and Catherine Conroy at Ropes & Gray.
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Series
Teaching Yoga Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Being a yoga instructor has helped me develop my confidence and authenticity, as well as stress management and people skills — all of which have crossed over into my career as an attorney, says Laura Gongaware at Clyde & Co.
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A Vision For Economic Clerkships In The Legal System
As courts handle increasingly complex damages analyses involving vast amounts of data, an economic clerkship program — integrating early-career economists into the judicial system — could improve legal outcomes and provide essential training to clerks, say Mona Birjandi at Data for Decisions and Matt Farber at Secretariat.
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Pay-To-Play Deal Shows Need For Strong Compliance Policies
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, through its recent settlement with Wayzata, has indicated that it will continue stringent enforcement of the pay-to-play rule, so investment advisers should ensure strong compliance policies are in place to promptly address potential violations as the November elections approach, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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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.