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Government Contracts
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June 10, 2024
New 'Access DOJ' Aims To Nix Barriers, Boost Accessibility
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the launch of an initiative to improve access to its programs and services, including an upcoming project to make it easier to report tips about crime or other violations of law.
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June 10, 2024
Contractor Can Replead Claims In $115M City Streetcar Suit
A contractor suing the city of Charlotte for $115 million over alleged cost overruns and delays on a streetcar line construction project will have another shot at pleading its contract claims after a North Carolina Business Court judge cleared the path to file an amended complaint.
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June 07, 2024
Tetra Tech Says Gov't On 'Fishing Expedition' In FCA Suit
Tetra Tech and a subsidiary accused the federal government and a housing developer of a "fishing expedition" after they sought access to electronic media long after discovery closed in cases accusing the subsidiary of fraud under Navy environmental contracts.
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June 07, 2024
Gov't Presses For Dismissal Of False Claim Case Against Dish
The federal government has said a false claim suit against Dish Network Corp. "will not vindicate the government's interests" and has asked the D.C. federal judge to dismiss the case Vermont National Telephone Co. filed over Dish buying discounted spectrum.
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June 07, 2024
Conn. Judge Pushes State For Proof In $11M Kickback Case
The Connecticut state judge presiding over an $11 million false claims and kickbacks case against a compounding pharmacy appeared unconvinced Friday that the defendants submitted false claims for payment, peppering the government's counsel with requests to support assertions with case law and evidence that was put on at trial.
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June 07, 2024
Chicago-Area Man Charged With $60M COVID Test Fraud
A suburban Chicago man is facing healthcare fraud and money laundering charges over more than $60 million in Medicare reimbursement claims for over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits that were allegedly never provided, including thousands of tests for dead people.
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June 07, 2024
Fed Circ. Says No Task Order Bar For Commercial Co. Protest
The Federal Circuit has revived an artificial intelligence company's protest over its exclusion from consideration to supply computer vision technology under a $376.4 million National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency procurement, ruling Friday that a statutory restriction on task order disputes did not bar the case.
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June 07, 2024
Galvion To Pay $2.5M For Alleged US Gear With Foreign Parts
Military gear company Galvion Ltd. has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement to resolve allegations that it sold gear containing foreign-sourced components to the U.S. government despite knowing the components had to come from the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
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June 07, 2024
Texas AG, Spirit AeroSystems Duel Over Safety Probe
Spirit AeroSystems Inc. and Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton each asked a federal court for an early win in their dispute over the state's probe into Spirit's management, with Spirit arguing the state's Request to Examine statute violates the Fourth Amendment, and Paxton arguing it is a constitutionally compliant subpoena.
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June 07, 2024
Minn. Jury Convicts 5 In Food Aid Fraud Trial Marred By Bribe
A Minnesota federal jury on Friday convicted five out of seven defendants on a litany of charges alleging they schemed to defraud a federal food aid program during the COVID-19 pandemic, days after one juror told of being offered a $120,000 bribe to vote for acquittal.
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June 07, 2024
John Deere Pays $1.1M To End DOL Hiring Bias Probe
John Deere has agreed to pay $1.1 million to the U.S. Department of Labor to shutter an investigation alleging the agricultural manufacturing company declined to employ nearly 300 Black and Hispanic workers through systemic hiring discrimination, the agency announced.
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June 06, 2024
Chronic Care Co. To Pay $14.9M To End DOJ False Claims Suit
A provider of chronic disease management services across several states has reached a $14.9 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving a False Claims Act suit alleging it defrauded Medicare and Medicaid by "upcoding" healthcare claims.
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June 06, 2024
NASA's 'Aggressive' Goals Upped Costs On Lunar Deliveries
NASA's "aggressive" goals and increasingly hands-on involvement with its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative that will enable quick and affordable deliveries to the moon has led to $208 million in cost increases and lengthy delays, the agency's Office of Inspector General said Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
$25 Million Flint Water Class Deal Gets Early OK
A Michigan federal judge on Thursday gave initial approval for a $25 million settlement between a class of Flint adults and businesses and a water engineering company accused of prolonging the town's water crisis, calling the deal fair and an opportunity to avoid years of "exhausting" litigation.
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June 06, 2024
Wash. Labor Dept. Wants To Back AG In ICE Inspections Suit
The Washington state labor and health departments want to throw their support behind efforts in the Ninth Circuit by the state's governor and attorney general to defend a state law that allows surprise inspections at private immigration detention centers.
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June 06, 2024
Psychiatrist Gets 99 Months For $19M Billing Fraud Scheme
A psychiatrist who was convicted for a $19 million insurance fraud scheme was sentenced Thursday to 99 months in prison by a Boston federal judge, who found that there was "overwhelming evidence" of the doctor's guilt.
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June 06, 2024
GAO Won't Back Protest Over $186M In DOD Fuel Deals
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said it would reject allegations that the Defense Logistics Agency should have disqualified two awardees from $186 million in fuel delivery deals in Syria and Iraq, saying the agency properly investigated alleged misrepresentations by the companies.
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June 05, 2024
PwC Asks Calif. Justices To Revive $2.5M Sanction Against LA
PwC urged the California Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive a $2.5 million sanction against the city of Los Angeles for yearslong discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing dispute, arguing the trial court's inherent authority to pose such penalties isn't limited to nonmonetary sanctions.
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June 05, 2024
Ga. Panel Sides With State In County Fire Contract Fight
A Georgia Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday backed the state's Department of Behavioral Health in a dispute over a fire-protection services contract with a county government, ruling the department couldn't be held liable for canceling the contract because it has no statutory power to enter into it.
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June 05, 2024
Sierra Club Touts Offshore Wind Cost Savings In New England
The Sierra Club is heralding offshore wind investment as critical to achieving New England's climate goals, slashing energy costs and protecting residents from volatile natural gas prices, citing a new report it commissioned that Synapse Energy Economics Inc. authored.
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June 05, 2024
House Votes To Block Vets' Access To Gender-Affirming Care
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a $147.5 billion spending bill along mostly party lines funding military construction and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which would block veterans' access to gender-affirming care and which the White House has already threatened to veto.
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June 05, 2024
New Rule Bars Self-Certification As Disabled, Vet-Owned Biz
The U.S. Small Business Administration issued a rule Wednesday effectively barring federal contractors from self-certifying as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, or SDVOSBs, amid ongoing concerns about fraud in veteran-owned contracting programs.
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June 05, 2024
Medtronic Can't Pause FCA Claims For 1st Circ. Detour
A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday declined to pause a long-pending False Claims Act and whistleblower retaliation case against medical device maker Medtronic so it can appeal a recent ruling, saying the court and the parties need to "get it moving."
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June 05, 2024
Federal Judges Facing Scrutiny For Clerk-Hiring Boycotts
The federal judiciary must take a look at its judges' hiring practices in the wake of some jurists' public refusal to hire students from certain law schools over on-campus political activity over the Israel-Hamas war, a nonprofit government watchdog said Wednesday.
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June 05, 2024
Waste Co. Strikes Deal To Exit DOL Sex Bias Probe
A Southern California waste collection company will pay more than $104,000 and hire 10 women to end an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor into the company's discriminatory hiring practices against female job applicants.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Practical Steps For Navigating New Sanctions On Russia
After the latest round of U.S. sanctions against Russia – the largest to date since the Ukraine war began – companies will need to continue to strengthen due diligence and compliance measures to navigate the related complexities, say James Min and Chelsea Ellis at Rimon.
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Bid Protest Spotlight: Conflict, Latent Ambiguity, Cost Realism
In this month's bid protest roundup, Markus Speidel at MoFo examines a trio of U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions with takeaways about the consequences of a teaming partner's organizational conflict of interest, a solicitation's latent ambiguity and an unreasonable agency cost adjustment.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Valeant Ruling May Pave Way For Patent-Based FCA Suits
The Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling in Silbersher v. Valeant marks a significant development in False Claims Act jurisprudence, opens new avenues for litigation and potentially raises the stakes for patent applicants who intend to do business with the government, say Joshua Robbins and Rick Taché at Buchalter.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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7 Common Myths About Lateral Partner Moves
As lateral recruiting remains a key factor for law firm growth, partners considering a lateral move should be aware of a few commonly held myths — some of which contain a kernel of truth, and some of which are flat out wrong, says Dave Maurer at Major Lindsey.
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Series
Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.
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Unpacking The New Russia Sanctions And Export Controls
Although geographically broad new prohibitions the U.S., U.K. and EU issued last week are somewhat underwhelming in their efforts to target third-country facilitators of Russia sanctions evasion, companies with exposure to noncompliant jurisdictions should pay close attention to their potential impacts, say attorneys at Shearman.
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Args In APA Case Amplify Justices' Focus On Agency Power
In arguments last week in Corner Post v. Federal Reserve, the U.S. Supreme Court justices paid particular importance to the possible ripple effects of their decision, which will address when a facial challenge to long-standing federal rules under the Administrative Procedure Act first accrues and could thus unleash a flood of new lawsuits, say attorneys at Snell & Wilmer.
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Mitigating Whistleblower Risks After High Court UBS Ruling
While it is always good practice for companies to periodically review whistleblower trainings, policies and procedures, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent whistleblower-friendly ruling in Murray v. UBS Securities helps demonstrate their importance in reducing litigation risk, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.
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A Cautionary Tale On Hospital-Physician Alignment Structures
A $345 million settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and Community Health Network highlights how quickly hospital and physician alignment relationships can violate legal restrictions on such dealings, and the onerous financial penalties that can ensue, say Robert Threlkeld and Elliott Coward at Morris Manning.
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Contract Disputes Recap: The Terms Matter
Stephanie Magnell and Zachary Jacobson at Seyfarth examine recent decisions from the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which offer reminders about the importance of including contract terms to address the unexpected circumstances that may interfere with performance.
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6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media
In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.
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Opinion
Biden Admin's March-In Plan Would Hurt Medical Innovation
The Biden administration's proposal to reinterpret the Bayh-Dole Act and allow the government to claw back patents when it determines that a commercialized product's price is too high would discourage private investment in important research and development, says Ken Thorpe at the Rollins School of Public Health.