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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.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 10.15.25

Developers Adapt Timelines and Strategies for Wind and Solar Projects Following Recent IRS Guidance and Expected IRS Enforcement Activity

On August 15, 2025, the Treasury Department and IRS released updated guidance concerning Beginning of Construction requirements to qualify for clean energy tax credits. This new guidance is critical for developers to consider as they rush to qualify for the tax credits before they expire entirely. The much-anticipated guidance followed the July 7, 2025 Executive Order 14315, Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources (“July 7, 2025 Executive Order”), which signaled that the Trump Administration was planning to strictly enforce the termination of production and investment tax credits for solar and wind facilities that are set to expire under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act), covered in more detail here. The new guidance comes at a time when many in the industry are struggling to keep up with the myriad ways that the new administration is working to roll back wind and solar tax credits, leaving developers to piece through the recent guidance to determine how best to structure and invest in clean energy projects given the volatile position of the current administration vis-a-vis wind and solar energy....

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