Government Contracts Insights

October 08, 2024 - False Claims Act
Ninth Circuit Sits En Banc to “Tidy Up the Law” on the False Claims Act’s First-to-File Rule
By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
In September 2024, the Ninth Circuit reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of an action under the False Claims Act (FCA or the “Act”) for lack of jurisdiction under the Act’s First-to-File Rule and held that the First-to-File Rule is not jurisdictional. In
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October 01, 2024 - False Claims Act
The FCA’s Qui Tam Provisions Under Fire
By: J. Alex Ward, Adam L. Braverman and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Last year, Justice Clarence Thomas’s dissent in United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. , 599 U.S. 419 (2023) (“ Polansky ”), resurrected an old debate about whether the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions violate Article II of the
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July 10, 2024 - Compliance, False Claims Act
The End of Chevron Deference: What It Means for False Claims Act Litigation
By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Under the Supreme Court’s decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. , 467 U.S. 837 (1984), for decades courts have sometimes been required “to defer to ‘permissible’ agency interpretations of [ambiguities in] statutes those agencies administer—even when a reviewing court
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June 06, 2023 - False Claims Act
United States Supreme Court: Look to Defendant’s Subjective Beliefs to Decide Whether It “Knowingly” Submitted False Claim
By: Adam L. Braverman, J. Alex Ward and Joseph R. Palmore
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc., clarifying when a defendant “knowingly” submits a false claim for payment under the False Claims Act (FCA). The Court held that a defendant that submits
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April 19, 2023 - False Claims Act
Supreme Court Weighs in on the Role of Subjective Intent Under the False Claims Act
By: J. Alex Ward and Krista A. Nunez
On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the Supreme Court heard argument in the consolidated cases of United States ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. , and United States ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. , to consider whether subjective knowledge about the falsity of a
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January 17, 2023 - False Claims Act
Supreme Court to Consider the False Claims Act’s Intent Standard
By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle, J. Alex Ward, Adam L. Braverman and Joseph R. Palmore
On Friday, January 13, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the False Claims Act (“FCA”) covers compliance lapses tied to regulatory interpretations that are incorrect but “objectively reasonable.” The Supreme Court granted petitions for writs of certiorari in two cases, United States ex
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June 27, 2022 - False Claims Act
Supreme Court to Consider Whether the Government Can Dismiss a False Claims Act Suit if It Opted Not to Intervene at the Outset
By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Government can dismiss a False Claims Act (“FCA”) lawsuit pursuant to 31 U.S.C. § 3730(c)(2)(A) over the Relator’s objections after initially choosing not to intervene in the case and, if so, what standard applies.
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June 08, 2022 - False Claims Act
Five Million Reasons for Government Contracts Lawyers to Assist with the Acquisition of Companies That Perform Government Contracts
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann
Due diligence is an important preliminary step before one company acquires another or an investor puts millions behind an existing firm. When a target company performs government contracts or subcontracts, it is critical that experienced government contracts attorneys be part of the due diligence
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April 29, 2022 - False Claims Act
Aerojet Settles False Claims Act Case Alleging That the Company Misrepresented Its Compliance with Cybersecurity Requirements
By: J. Alex Ward, Tina D. Reynolds and Victoria Dalcourt Angle
Aerojet and the qui tam relator have entered into a 13th hour settlement—after a jury was seated and the trial was underway—to resolve the much-watched United States ex rel. Brian Markus v. Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. False Claims Act (“FCA”) case. The parties—including the Department
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April 06, 2022 - False Claims Act
False Claims in Independent Research and Development (IR&D): Federal District Court Adopts ATK Thiokol as the Knowledge Standard
By: Locke Bell
Many government contractors, like other private enterprises, invest heavily in research and development (R&D) to improve the products and services they offer, in hopes of better meeting their customers’ needs. When those R&D efforts are “independent” of any particular contract—hence “IR&D” or “IRAD”—the associated
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Topic Archives: False Claims Act

Ninth Circuit Sits En Banc to “Tidy Up the Law” on the False Claims Act’s First-to-File Rule

By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

The FCA’s Qui Tam Provisions Under Fire

By: J. Alex Ward, Adam L. Braverman and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

The End of Chevron Deference: What It Means for False Claims Act Litigation

By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

United States Supreme Court: Look to Defendant’s Subjective Beliefs to Decide Whether It “Knowingly” Submitted False Claim

By: Adam L. Braverman, J. Alex Ward and Joseph R. Palmore

Supreme Court Weighs in on the Role of Subjective Intent Under the False Claims Act

By: J. Alex Ward and Krista A. Nunez

Supreme Court to Consider the False Claims Act’s Intent Standard

By: Victoria Dalcourt Angle, J. Alex Ward, Adam L. Braverman and Joseph R. Palmore

Supreme Court to Consider Whether the Government Can Dismiss a False Claims Act Suit if It Opted Not to Intervene at the Outset

By: J. Alex Ward and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

Five Million Reasons for Government Contracts Lawyers to Assist with the Acquisition of Companies That Perform Government Contracts

By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann

Aerojet Settles False Claims Act Case Alleging That the Company Misrepresented Its Compliance with Cybersecurity Requirements

By: J. Alex Ward, Tina D. Reynolds and Victoria Dalcourt Angle

False Claims in Independent Research and Development (IR&D): Federal District Court Adopts ATK Thiokol as the Knowledge Standard

By: Locke Bell