D.C. Circuit Overturns Decision To Release Manufacturing Data Under FOIA
Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.05.10
In United Technologies Corp. v. DoD, the DC Circuit set aside a DCMA decision to release under FOIA certain Corrective Action Requests (CARs) from DCMA regarding alleged problems with Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney manufacturing processes. Although the court found that the competitive harm that could result from their competitors using that information to discredit Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney in the marketplace is not the type of harm that Exemption 4 was designed to protect, the court nonetheless found that the information was not releasable because DoD had not rebutted Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney's argument that the CARs disclosed proprietary information regarding their manufacturing processes that would allow their competitors to improve their own manufacturing and quality control systems to the competitive detriment of Sikorsky and Pratt & Whitney.
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
