Blog

On June 16, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled on United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources, Inc. et al., 599 U.S. ____ (2023). The Court questioned whether the Government has the ability to dismiss a False Claims Act (“FCA”) suit over a relator’s objection if the Government initially declined to intervene in...

“For scienter, it is enough if respondents believed that their claims were not accurate.” 1 - Justice Thomas On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion on the ongoing False Claims Act (“FCA”) scienter issues (the “Opinion”) – i.e., does a company’s objective or subjective knowledge matter regarding whether its submissions to...

Recent Trends in Non-Compete Agreements Are non-compete agreements (colloquially referred to as “non-competes”) on their way out? Over the past year, more states are either prohibiting the enforce ability of non-competes or greatly restricting their use, hinting at a growing trend away from non-competes. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), which is always on the...

The Supreme Court continues to define the False Claims Act (“FCA”). In September 2022, Ward & Berry explained the possibility of the Supreme Court taking on a second FCA case¹ this term, and why we should care about it. Short answer: The “knowledge” aspect of the FCA is under heavy debate and any resolution...

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” – Justice Kagan The Supreme Court decided to dismiss In re Grand Jury as “improvidently granted” in its January 23, 2023 Order after hearing oral argument on the case earlier this month. In other words, after agreeing to hear the case, and instead of establishing clear law...

As most government contractors know, government customers frequently amend solicitations—often multiple times and sometimes after proposals have already been submitted.  These multiple amendments can extend the solicitation period by months or even years. So what happens when the solicitation is a small business set-aside and the offeror could certify as small at the time...