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DAM Contractor's Underbidding Insufficient For FCA Liability

Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.21.05

Affirming summary judgment, the D.C. Circuit in U.S. ex rel. Bettis v. Oderbrecht Contractors (Jan. 11, 2005) held that evidence that a dam contractor (1) underbid, (2) reaffirmed its underbid, and (3) claimed that it would use cost-saving measures it never employed did not permit the conclusion that the contractor fraudulently induced the Army Corps of Engineers to award it the contract. The Court acknowledged that claims submitted for payment under a contract that was fraudulently induced can give rise to civil False Claims Act liability, but found in this case that the contractor's underbid was not a promise that its estimated costs were accurate, only that it would perform the dam work at the unit prices it bid, such that submission of claims for payment under the contract, including claims for equitable adjustments above the contract price, were not false claims.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.27.26

WARNING: California’s Listing of Microplastics as a Candidate Chemical May Result in Unexpected, and Imminent, Compliance Obligations Under AB 1200 (California Safer Food Packaging and Cookware Act)

On June 18, 2026, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) added microplastics to the list of Candidate Chemicals maintained under the state’s Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulations.  The listing of microplastics, which becomes effective on October 1, 2026, is the first step in the SCP regulatory process, which could lead to restrictions on products that contain or release microplastics. ...