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But Judge, That Was Only What We Said To Congress

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.27.06

Judge Williams of the Court of Federal Claims was obviously not amused when she set aside the agency's override of the automatic stay during the GAO protest proceedings in Cigna Gov't Services, LLC v. U.S. (Mar. 10, 2006) in a procurement for Medicare claims administration. In addition to finding the rationale of the agency inconsistent with the agency's testimony to Congress that the procurement had significant scheduling flexibility, she found the override determination failed to consider several relevant factors, such as the cost of termination if GAO determines that the agency made an illegal award.

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Client Alert | 2 min read | 04.16.26

Federal Circuit Holds Challengers to CICA Stay Overrides Need Not Satisfy Four-Factor Injunctive Relief Test

In a significant decision for government contractors, on April 15, 2026, in Life Science Logistics, LLC v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that bid protesters challenging an agency’s override of an automatic stay of contract performance under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) need not satisfy the demanding four-factor test traditionally required for preliminary injunctive relief.  In so doing, the Federal Circuit clarified that CICA stay override challenges need only demonstrate that the override decision was arbitrary and capricious—nothing more....