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E-Mails Regarding Competitor's Responsibility Not Releasable Under FOIA

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.16.09

In Tybrin Corp. v. USAF (W.D. Ohio Feb. 19, 2009), the district court ruled that e-mails submitted by Tybrin regarding a competitor's responsibility, which ultimately resulted in the exclusion of that competitor, were confidential commercial information under FOIA Exemption 4 and, therefore, not releasable. In doing so, the court relied on Tybrin's practice of treating such e-mails as confidential, not only as to the general public but also within the company, and the fact that Tybrin had a "commercial interest" in the e-mails and so the e-mails were "commercial" information.

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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  This decision, while nonprecedential, is in line with U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) precedent, which has long held that pre-award protests must be filed before the proposal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....