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Federal Circuit Extends 'Good Faith' Shield of Agencies

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.12.13

In Croman Corp. v. U.S. (July  31, 2013), the Federal Circuit upheld the reasonableness of an agency's corrective action after expanding the protestor's argument into a "bad faith" allegation. When the protestor complained that the cancellation of several CLINs was without a rational basis and put forward evidence that indicated the agency's rationale was pretextual, instead of requiring the agency to put forward proof to support its stated rationale, the court relabeled the challenge as a "bad faith" allegation, which it held the protestor had not shown by clear and convincing evidence.


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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26

DOJ’s False Claims Act Resolution Against IBM Signals Heightened Risk for Federal Contractors with DEI Programs

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....