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A Rose and a Thorn: Federal Circuit Permits Contractor to Add New Claim to Pending Complaint, but Enforces Notice Provision to Bar Recovery

Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.26.15

In K-Con Building Systems Inc. v. United States, the Federal Circuit held that a contractor could amend its COFC complaint to add new, denied claims related to the appeal if the new claims either requested different remedies (e.g., additional compensation, remission of funds, non-monetary relief) or asserted legal grounds for relief that were materially different from the claims under appeal. This holding may prove helpful to contractors at the COFC who identify additional bases for recovery/remedies after filing their complaint; however, the Court also denied recovery because the contractor's two-year delay before notifying the government of the alleged "changes" failed to provide the adequate notice required by the Changes Clause, distinguishing the facts in K-Con from those in prior cases where notice provisions were not strictly enforced.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.24.26

California Considering A Massive Expansion of Its Antitrust Laws

Legislative efforts to significantly expand California’s antitrust laws are working their way through the state legislature. The most comprehensive overhaul is Assembly Bill 1776 — the Competition and Opportunity in Markets for a Prosperous, Equitable and Transparent Economy (COMPETE) Act, introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, on March 23, 2026. AB 1776 is modeled closely after draft legislation recommended by the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) in December. AB 1776 would not only significantly expand potential liability for single-firm conduct and monopolization but would also explicitly decouple California antitrust analysis from certain federal standards. Companies doing business in California should pay close attention to AB 1776 because of its potentially dramatic impact, including increased exposure to antitrust litigation and increased compliance costs....