1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |D.C. Circuit Creates Split over the Reach of the First-to-File Bar

D.C. Circuit Creates Split over the Reach of the First-to-File Bar

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.18.14

In U.S. ex rel. Shea v. Verizon Co., the D.C. Circuit held that (1) two complaints may be "related" even if they involve different agencies or contracts, (2) the bar applies even when the same relator filed the earlier action, and (3) it continues to operate even after the earlier-filed action is resolved. The third holding (which drew a dissent) conflicts with dicta from two other circuits and the Fourth Circuit's 2013 opinion in U.S. ex rel. Carter v. Halliburton Co., petition for cert. filed (discussed here), holding that the first-to-file bar only applies while the earlier action is still pending.

Insights

Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.10.26

ASBCA Denies Government Motion to Dismiss, Providing Key Guidance on Contractor Claim Standards Post-ECC International

In Appeal of Bahadir (a C&M case), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals denied the government’s motion to dismiss in its entirety, ruling in favor of the contractor on both key issues raised by the government. The case arises from a contract for construction work at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, under which Appellant alleged government-caused delay and filed certified prolongation claims using a “windows analysis” methodology. The government moved to dismiss, arguing that Appellant failed to state a sum certain for each of what the government characterized as 38 distinct claims, and separately that four claims had not been properly presented to the Contracting Officer. ...