A Turning Point in Federal Fraud Law The 2023 Supreme Court decision in United States ex rel. Schutte & Proctor v. SuperValu Inc. changed how courts assess fraud under the False Claims Act (FCA). This landmark case redefined the scienter element—what it means to act “knowingly”—in cases where businesses are accused… Read more »
Introduction: Theodore P Watson. For government contractors involved in legal disputes, the ultimate goal may be to have their case heard by the highest court in the land—the United States Supreme Court. However, the path to obtaining a hearing before the Supreme Court is not a straightforward one. It often… Read more »
Act quickly if you are under investigation or worried about violating Buy American Act BAA certification compliance requirements. Theodore P Watson, Esq – Practice Leader This section is only written to provide information to small businesses and larger federal government contractors regarding common issues and questions raised about the Buy American… Read more »
The COVID-19 pandemic is still costing the country substantial amounts of money without and certainty of guarantees. The end of this pandemic is not yet on site and federal contractors may now wonder whether this situation falls with the context of FAR force majeure government contracts clauses, especially in government… Read more »
Brutal Government Contractor Mistake Cause Lost Appeal For Quantum Meruit Claims at COFC. Government contractors often make the costly mistake of performing out of scope work without the expressed written permission of the contracting officer. Many contractors fail at the litigation stage because they do not understand the difference between… Read more »
If You Do Not Correctly Apply the CAFC Federal Circuit Rules and Standard of Review in Bid Protest Appellate Cases, Your Case Will Fall Through the Cracks. When appealing a case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), the party appealing the case, usually from… Read more »
Import Points With FAR Latent Defects in Construction Federal Contracts The FAR 52.246 latent defect definition in federal government contracting is a hidden defect in the purchased material or the quality of the services (including construction) and worked performed. Latent defects in construction government construction projects for remedial work are common. A… Read more »
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals decided a bid protest case where the issue was whether the agency properly referred the offeror’s technical responsibility decision to the Small Business Administration for a COC Certificate of Competency review. This has become a common dispute in bid protest appeal cases. As a… Read more »
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a recent case decided the issue of agency corrective action and how it impacts the pre-award decision and post-award decision process. In this case, the appellant appealed the Court of Federal Claim’s decision that the United States Transportation Command decision to… Read more »
The Government Certificate of Competency (SBA COC) Program is regulated by the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(7)). After review of the contracting agency’s referral, the SBA issues a written decision to the contracting officer either certifying or not, that one or more of the small businesses are responsible and meet… Read more »