Government Contracts

August 23, 2024
VA Says It Properly Assessed Bids For $22B IT Deal

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has told the Court of Federal Claims that it had no obligation to consider potential future conflicts of interest involving contractors added to a $22.3 billion information technology contract, pushing back against allegations that it should have disqualified awardees.
August 23, 2024
Transport Co.'s Union Pushback Flouted Law, Judge Says

A company that transports migrant children and families from facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border violated federal labor law through its pushback on a union drive, which included interrogating a worker about his union sympathies and later suspending him, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Friday.
August 23, 2024
737 Max Families Spurn DOJ, Boeing's 'Cozy' Plea Deal

Families of victims of the 737 Max 8 crashes told a Texas federal judge on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice's "cozy" plea agreement with Boeing must be rejected because it's based on misleading facts and shoddy math that overlook the tragic deaths of 346 people.
August 23, 2024
Federal Gov't Hits Georgia Tech With Cybersecurity FCA Suit

The federal government has hit the Georgia Institute of Technology with a False Claims Act suit accusing the university of knowingly failing to comply with required cybersecurity standards while working on federal defense contracts.
August 23, 2024
Judge Won't Restrict Access To RTX Trade Secrets Trial

Defense contractor RTX Corp. won't be able to bar non-U.S. citizens from a trade secrets trial slated to get underway Tuesday, but exhibits, such as diagrams, will not be made visible to observers in the courtroom, a Massachusetts federal judge ordered.
August 23, 2024
Court Again Dumps Pa. County's Dominion Contract Suit

A Pennsylvania federal court threw out a county's lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems for a second time, ruling that an amended complaint failed to fix the issue of standing that sank the suit the first time.
August 23, 2024
Patent Case Against USPTO Mimics Failed Suit, Feds Say

The federal government has moved to toss a suit alleging that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website infringes patents covering the idea of two-factor authorization, arguing that a patent in the same "family" was thrown out in 2016 by a different court that said it contained "nothing inventive."
August 22, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive PwC's $2.5M Sanction Against LA

The California Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously restored a $2.5 million sanction sought by PwC against the city of Los Angeles for pervasive discovery misconduct in an underlying utility billing fight, finding that the trial court had the authority to impose monetary sanctions under the state's Code of Civil Procedure.
August 22, 2024
Construction Co. Says It's Owed Coverage For Sinkhole Claim

A Washington construction company has filed a suit seeking to force an insurer to cover potential damages in an underlying lawsuit alleging the company botched a sewer pipeline replacement project, causing a sinkhole to open up along a Seattle ship canal after the job ended.
August 22, 2024
GAO Backs Protest Over Navy Sonar Equipment Deal

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has backed a protest over corrective action on a U.S. Navy solicitation for sonar equipment, saying the Navy failed to consider whether a restrictive term added to the deal made it inappropriate as a small business contract.
August 22, 2024
Tech Firm Says DOD Was Ad-Hoc With Chinese Military Label

Lidar technology firm Hesai argued Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Defense has not proved Hesai has connections to the Chinese military as the firm strives to get taken off a list denoting them as such.
August 22, 2024
Air Force Cancels $12B Nuclear Missile Program Support Deal

The U.S. Air Force has canceled a long-pending $12 billion solicitation for nuclear missile program support services in the wake of a protest decision finding that the Air Force didn't properly assess awardee Guidehouse LLP's contract proposal.
August 22, 2024
NJ Panel Rejects Dispensary's Bid To Revive Application Suit

A would-be cannabis entrepreneur can't upend a New Jersey township's decision to decline her application for a retail license in favor of others, a state appeals court ruled, saying that she needed to name her competitors as defendants to keep the case viable.
August 22, 2024
Builder Wins $524M Contract For Cybersecurity Agency HQ

The U.S. General Services Administration announced that it has awarded a construction company with a $524 million contract to build the new Washington, D.C., headquarters for a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency.
August 21, 2024
RTX Wants Trade Secrets Trial Closed To 'Non-US Persons'

Defense contractor RTX is fighting with a manufacturer over whether a trade secrets trial next week over the design of a mechanical bearing used in the U.S. military's "StormBreaker" bomb should be closed off to all "non-U.S. persons."
August 21, 2024
Legal, Policy Orgs Urge Justices To Toss FCA Interpretation

Two groups are defending AT&T subsidiary Wisconsin Bell Inc. in its challenge to the use of the False Claims Act for E-Rate program reimbursement fraud, telling the Supreme Court in amicus briefs Tuesday that the Seventh Circuit's ruling in the case would make the FCA's qui tam powers too expansive.
August 21, 2024
500,000 Camp Lejeune Cases Filed With The Navy

The federal government and Camp Lejeune litigants have told the North Carolina federal court overseeing claims over contaminated drinking water at the Marine base that there have been nearly 550,000 administrative claims filed with the U.S. Navy.
August 21, 2024
Ga. City Asks Full 11th Circ. To Review Race Bias Suit Revival

A southern Georgia city is urging the full Eleventh Circuit to reconsider a panel decision that revived a white city manager's lawsuit claiming it unlawfully fired him to hire a Black woman, arguing the panel improperly extended the alleged discriminatory intent of one Black city commissioner onto other Black commissioners.
August 21, 2024
Mich. Families Drop Virtual Jail Visit Suit Against Telecom

Families of inmates in the St. Clair County Jail have dropped their claims against a jail telecommunication provider after a Michigan state judge ruled that the families' constitutional rights were not violated by the jail's decision to replace in-person visitation with video calling.
August 21, 2024
Government Contractor Escapes Workers' Exit Pay Suit

A North Carolina federal judge on Wednesday tossed a lawsuit former workers lodged against a government contractor accusing it of illegally amending a policy to avoid providing employees with payouts when they left the company, saying the policy at issue is not governed by federal benefits law.
August 21, 2024
Justices Urged To Take Up 9th Circ. $1.3B Award Suit

The corporate arm of India's space agency is trying to downplay how big of a circuit split the Ninth Circuit created when it ruled it had no jurisdiction over a $1.3 billion arbitral award, but the company's attempts are "unconvincing," an Indian satellite telecom has told the U.S. Supreme Court.
August 21, 2024
Health Co. Investors Fight To Keep Suit Over Migrant Deal

Investors in mobile medical provider DocGo are urging a New York federal judge not to toss a suit alleging it deceived stockholders before a $432 million contract with New York City to provide emergency migrant housing came under public scrutiny, saying the complaint sufficiently establishes that the defendants made material misstatements and omissions.
August 21, 2024
Ex-Venezuelan Oil Employee Pleads Guilty To Sanctions Plot

The former procurement head at Petróleos de Venezuela SA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, pled guilty to conspiring to obtain millions of dollars' worth of U.S. aircraft parts for the business, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
August 20, 2024
Gulf Spill Review 'Underestimated' Enviro Risks, Court Says

A National Marine Fisheries Service review of the effects of oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico violates federal law, a Maryland federal judge ruled, agreeing with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups that the agency underestimated the risks to endangered and threatened marine species.
August 20, 2024
SF Police Can't Sue Navy Over Toxic Shipyard, 9th Circ. Says

A group of San Francisco police officers cannot pursue their suit alleging the U.S. Navy misled the city into leasing a former naval shipyard that was not properly decontaminated following its use during the Cold War, which led to the officers suffering health problems, the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

Editor's Picks

The Latest On Escobar's FCA Impact

Federal courts across the country are handing down important rulings interpreting the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision on False Claims Act liability in Universal Health Services v. Escobar. As the rulings keep pouring in, stay up to speed on Law360’s latest coverage and analysis of Escobar’s impact.

Expert Analysis

Planning Law Firm Content Calendars: What, When, Where

During the slower month of August, law firms should begin working on their 2025 content calendars, planning out a content creation and distribution framework that aligns with the firm’s objectives and maintains audience engagement throughout the year, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.
Series

Playing Golf Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Golf can positively affect your personal and professional life well beyond the final putt, and it’s helped enrich my legal practice by improving my ability to build lasting relationships, study and apply the rules, face adversity with grace, and maintain my mental and physical well-being, says Adam Kelly at Venable.
Law Firms Should Move From Reactive To Proactive Marketing

Most law firm marketing and business development teams operate in silos, leading to an ad hoc, reactive approach, but shifting to a culture of proactive planning — beginning with comprehensive campaigns — can help firms effectively execute their broader business strategy, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
3 High Court Rulings May Shape Health Org. Litigation Tactics

Three separate decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent term — Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy — will likely strengthen healthcare organizations' ability to affirmatively sue executive agencies to challenge regulations governing operations and enforcement actions, say attorneys at McDermott.
Opinion

The Big Issues A BigLaw Associates' Union Could Address

A BigLaw associates’ union could address a number of issues that have the potential to meaningfully improve working conditions, diversity and attorney well-being — from restructured billable hour requirements to origination credit allocation, return-to-office mandates and more, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
Opinion

It's Time For A BigLaw Associates' Union

As BigLaw faces a steady stream of criticism about its employment policies and practices, an associates union could effect real change — and it could start with law students organizing around opposition to recent recruiting trends, says Tara Rhoades at The Sanity Plea.
Why DOJ's Whistleblower Program May Have Limited Impact

The U.S. Department of Justice’s new whistleblower pilot program aims to incentivize individuals to report corporate misconduct, but the program's effectiveness may be undercut by its differences from other federal agencies’ whistleblower programs and its interplay with other DOJ policies, say attorneys at Milbank.
Takeaways From Virginia's $2B Trade Secrets Verdict Reversal

The Virginia Court of Appeals' recent reversal of the $2 billion damages award in Pegasystems v. Appian underscores the claimant's burden to show damages causation and highlights how an evidentiary ruling could lead to reversible error, say John Lanham and Kamran Jamil at Morrison Foerster.
How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act

In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
Parsing FY 2024 DOJ Criminal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement

While the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division's strike force on healthcare fraud enforcement action shows an impressive doubling of criminal indictments, a closer look at the data offers important clues about underlying trends, including the comparably modest, accompanying increase in associated intended loss, say Roderick Thomas and Kathleen Cooperstein at Wiley.
How Gov't AI Protections May Affect Contractors' Data Rights

The U.S. Senate’s proposed National Defense Authorization Act for 2025, which includes provisions to maintain the government's data rights when contracting for artificial intelligence, should prompt contractors to examine how to protect their own rights when the current data rights framework is applied to AI, say Tyler Evans and Caitlin Conroy at Steptoe.
Lessons From Recent SEC Cyber Enforcement Actions

The recent guidance by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance is helpful to any company facing a cybersecurity threat, but just as instructive are the warnings raised by the SEC's recent enforcement actions against SolarWinds, R.R. Donnelley and Intercontinental Exchange, say attorneys at O'Melveny.
9th Circ. Ruling Flags Work Harassment Risks Of Social Media

The recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Okonowsky v. Garland, holding an employer could be liable for a co-worker's harassing social media posts, highlights new challenges in technology-centered and remote workplaces, and underscores an employer's obligation to prevent hostile environments wherever their employees clock in, say Jennifer Lada and Phillip Schreiber at Holland & Knight.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?

A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
Series

Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.