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"Any Degree of Fraud" Bars Contractor Claims

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 10.13.14

In Laguna Constr. Co. (Oct. 7), the ASBCA denied a $2.9 million claim for unpaid invoices because two of Laguna's employees had pled guilty to accepting subcontractor kickbacks under some, but not all, of the task orders under appeal. The Board imputed the fraud to the company and, applying the doctrine of "antecedent breach," held that the contractor's material breach excused the government's subsequent failure to pay for the completed and invoiced work.


Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.13.26

Massachusetts Trade Secret Preliminary Injunctions: Prove the Harm, Tailor the Relief

A strong trade secret claim is not a substitute for proof of irreparable harm. In Daikin Applied Americas Inc. v. Russo, No. SJC-13881 (Mass. Oct. 14, 2026), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that likely success on a misappropriation claim does not create a presumption of irreparable harm. The court grounded its ruling in both the Massachusetts Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the traditional equitable principles the statute incorporates. It required a case-specific showing that the requested relief would prevent harm that a final judgment could not adequately remedy. ...