Ode to Boilerplate
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 05.02.14
In DMS Imaging Inc. v. U.S. (CFC Apr. 30, 2014), a boilerplate severability clause may have saved the contractor's claim for damages after equipment it leased to the government was destroyed. The government argued that the contractor's standard lease terms, expressly incorporated into the contract with the government, were invalid because they included an indemnification clause alleged to violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, but the CFC found the government liable for damages to the equipment under a separate, risk-of-loss clause, which was not invalidated because, even if the indemnification clause were unenforceable, a third boilerplate provision provided that unenforceable or void provisions would be deemed severable.
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.08.26
CAS Board Publishes Final Rule Rescinding CAS 404, 408, 409, and 4117
As part of its ongoing effort to conform the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the CAS Board published a final rule rescinding CAS 408 (Accounting for costs of compensated personal absence) and CAS 411 (Accounting for acquisition costs of material). The CAS Board also rescinded CAS 404 (Capitalization of tangible assets) and CAS 409 (Depreciation of tangible capital assets) but retained certain requirements of CAS 404 and 409, which will be located in new paragraphs of CAS 405 (Accounting for unallowable costs). Specifically, the CAS Board retained the requirements currently located at CAS 404-50(d)(1), CAS 409-50(e)(5), CAS 409-50(j)(1), and CAS 409-50(j)(4), which the CAS Board explained are necessary to protect the Government’s interests. Otherwise, the CAS Board determined that the requirements of CAS 404, 408, 409, and 411 overlapped with GAAP such that GAAP “may be applied reasonably as a substitute for CAS to support contract cost and pricing.”
Client Alert | 1 min read | 07.08.26
Crowell & Moring and Crowell GovCon Strategies at Farnborough International Airshow 2026
Client Alert | 7 min read | 07.08.26
Illinois Imposes Transparency and Safety Obligations on Frontier AI Systems
Client Alert | 10 min read | 07.08.26
Proactive Compliance in Health Care: “Getting Ahead” of Enforcement in 2026 and Beyond

