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"Certain" Means No Weasel Words

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.30.05

The Contract Disputes Act requires a contractor to specify a "sum certain" that it claims. The contractor in Sandoval Plumbing Repair, Inc. (ASBCA Sept. 14, 2005), specified a dollar amount but learned that by adding words such as "no less than" or "in excess of" before a specified amount makes the claim "uncertain" and requires dismissal.

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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....