Check For Weed

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 02.19.10

In Agredano v. U.S. (Feb. 17, 2010), the Federal Circuit reversed the Court of Federal Claims decision that Customs and Border Protection breached an implied-in-fact warranty when it sold a car at auction containing concealed marijuana, drugs that ultimately resulted in the purchaser spending a year in a Mexican prison. The Federal Circuit held there was no implied-in-fact warranty that the car did not contain contraband, finding there was no meeting of the minds required to form such a warranty because Customs' regulatory duty to remove contraband from the forfeited vehicle did not create a contractual obligation and the agency had expressly disclaimed any and all warranties at the auction.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.10.26

Federal Circuit Clarifies Application of Blue & Gold: Proposal Submission Deadline, Not Award, is the Operative Time for Filing

In Utech, Inc. v. United States, No. 24-1586 (Fed. Cir. June 24, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified that in most cases, a pre-award protest must be filed before the proposal submission deadline to avoid the Blue & Gold waiver rule.  This decision, while nonprecedential, is in line with U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) precedent, which has long held that pre-award protests must be filed before the proposal submission deadline....