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Ignorance of The Law

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.11.09

In what, fortunately, is not a precedential decision, in Teknowledge Corp. v. U.S. (Nov. 3, 2009), the Federal Circuit finds that the cost of software development effort is not allocable to Government business because there is no demonstrated "benefit" to the Government. While it is not clear, based on the facts reported in the decision, that the result would be different -- and as we have reported in a prior Bullet Point about the decision of the Court of Federal Claims in the same case -- neither party apparently pointed out to either court that FAR incorporates the requirements of CAS 420, which specifically addresses the allocation issue in the case and requires a different analysis than the "benefit to the Government" rationale that the courts applied.

Insights

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....