President Trump’s administration has brought, and continues to bring, sweeping changes to the government contracting landscape. From the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul to promoting commercial purchasing and use of non-traditional contracting vehicles such as Other Transaction Agreements and Commercial Solutions Openings, contractors have been required to rapidly make changes and adjust to a significantly changing environment. This week brought additional change—though it is not “revolutionary.” In an April 30, 2026 executive order (EO) titled “Promoting Efficiency, Accountability, and Performance in Federal Contracting,”…More

In Life Science Logistics, LLC v. United States,[1] the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) affirmed that a disappointed bidder challenging an agency’s override of a Competition in Contracting Act (“CICA”) stay must only show the override was arbitrary and capricious. The court rejected the government’s argument that the plaintiff must also satisfy the traditional four-factor test for preliminary injunctions—likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, balance of equities, and benefit to the public. The…More

This is the fourth blog in a series on the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 USC §§ 3729, et seq., which targets any person that knowingly submits false claims for payment or false statements material to false claims to the US government. You can check out our previous posts here: part 1, part 2, and part 3. Generally, to prove a false claim under the FCA, the government must establish three elements: Falsity; Knowledge; and Materiality This post examines the materiality element, poised to grow in legal…More

As required by the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA), the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published its Annual Bid Protest Report to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025.[1] Each year, the Comptroller General must report to Congress on (1) any instance in which a federal agency failed to fully implement GAO’s recommendation during the prior year; (2) any protest decision that was not rendered within 100 days of its filing; and (3) a summary of the most prevalent grounds for…More

This is the third blog in a series on the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 USC §§ 3729, et seq., which targets any person that knowingly submits false claims for payment or false statements material to false claims to the US government. You can check out our previous posts here and here. To prove a false claim under the FCA, the government must establish three elements: Falsity; Knowledge; and Materiality In this blog post, we will explore the knowledge element.  Despite being a fraud statute, the…More

To prove a False Claim under the False Claims Act (FCA), the government or relator must establish three elements: Falsity; Knowledge; and Materiality. In this blog post, we will explore the Falsity element.  The FCA does not define “false,” but courts have established two types of falsity that can create liability under the FCA: factual falsity and legal falsity.   Factual Falsity A claim is factually false when it misrepresents the goods or services provided to the government, or for which the government is providing reimbursement. …More

This is a blog series on the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 USC §§ 3729, et seq., which targets any person that knowingly submits false claims for payment or false statements material to false claims to the US government.  FCA violators can be liable for three times the government’s damages, plus penalties for every false claim or statement.  In this blog series, we will walk through what all federal contractors and recipients of federal funding should know about the FCA,…More

On February 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released its Fiscal Year 2023 False Claims Act (“FCA”) statistics showing recoveries of almost $2.7 billion.  Last year’s recoveries exceeded 2022’s $2.2 billion but are still one of the lesser collections of FCA settlements and judgments in the past 10 years.  DOJ also had to do a lot more work to get paid: it reported a record 543 settlements and judgements in 2023, almost 200 more than 2022.  This likely…More

A recent decision in SBA Contracting, LLC, ASBCA No. 63320 (Oct. 3, 2023) provides an important reminder for government contractors to carefully consider the volatility of market conditions before submitting firm-fixed price contract proposals to the Federal Government.    The U.S. Army (Army) awarded a firm fixed price commercial services contract to Sama Bna Aliraq Company (SBA) to lease and maintain various non-tactical vehicles (Contract).  After award, SBA repeatedly attempted to modify the Contract, including, pricing, delivery dates, and vehicle condition,…More

The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA or Board) issued an opinion in Appeal of StructSure Projects, Inc., granting StructSure additional COVID-19 related costs arising under a fixed-price task order.  ASBCA No. 62927 (Aug. 8, 2023).  To date, federal contractors performing under that type of task order have had difficulty recovering for additional costs.  Here, the Board allowed the contractor to recover additional temporary facility rental costs, because the Government continued to use and benefit from the rented facilities…More