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False Eligibility Application For Grant May Violate FCA

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.09.05

In a ruling that could expand the exposure of grantees to False Claims Act liability, the Seventh Circuit in United States ex rel. Main v. Oakland City University (Oct. 20, 2005) held that a relator stated an FCA claim based upon a private university's allegedly false representation, made on a "phase one" application to establish institutional eligibility for federal financial aid, that it would comply with laws prohibiting payment of incentive fees to recruiters for enrolling students. Rejecting the argument that the "phase one" application does not by itself seek any payment, the court reasoned that a false "phase one" eligibility application could be actionable as a "false record or statement" under the FCA because it supports subsequent "phase two" requests for specific loans and grants.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 05.01.26

Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration Policies Restricting Wind and Solar Permitting

A coalition of regional clean energy trade associations — including RENEW Northeast, Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Southern Renewable Energy Association, and Interwest Energy Alliance — along with the Green Energy Consumers Alliance (GECA), filed suit in December 2025 against the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Army Corps of Engineers. The complaint alleged that five agency actions, issued in response to a series of executive orders and presidential memoranda beginning on January 20, 2025, violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by arbitrarily halting or restricting federal permitting for wind and solar energy projects. Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of these policies while the litigation proceeds. See Renew Northeast, et al. v. U.S. Dep’t of Interior, et al., No. 25-cv-13961-DJC,  (D. Mass. Apr. 21, 2026) ECF Dkt. 89....