Eleventh Circuit OK’s Suspension of Affiliates Beyond 18 Months
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.08.14
In Agility Def. & Gov’t Servs. v. Dep’t of Def. (Dec. 31, 2013), the Eleventh Circuit reversed the judgment below and held that when an agency suspends a contractor it may suspend affiliates of that contractor for greater than 18 months based solely on their affiliation provided legal proceedings have been initiated during that period against the contractor. The district court had held that the regulations required affiliation-based suspensions to be lifted after 18 months unless legal proceedings had been initiated against the affiliates themselves, but the Eleventh Circuit held that affiliates are afforded sufficient due process and that no independent showing of wrongdoing by an affiliate is required for suspension or debarment.
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26
On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.14.26
FedRAMP Solicits Public Comment on Overhaul to Incident Communications Procedures
Client Alert | 5 min read | 04.14.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.14.26

