Implied False Certification Split Widens
Client Alert | 1 min read | 06.12.15
In U.S. v. Sanford-Brown, Ltd. (June 8, 2015), the Seventh Circuit rejected the implied false certification theory of False Claims Act liability, holding that alleged noncompliance with Title IV restrictions incorporated into a program participation agreement (PPA) for the Department of Education's subsidies program was insufficient to trigger FCA liability absent evidence that the defendant's application to establish initial Title IV eligibility was fraudulent. Although the majority of circuits have expressly adopted some form of the implied false certification theory of liability, the court joined the Fifth Circuit as the holdouts in rejecting the theory, explaining that "it would be . . . unreasonable for us to hold that an institution's continued compliance with the thousands of pages of federal statutes and regulations incorporated by reference into the PPA are conditions of payment for purposes of liability under the FCA."
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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.
Client Alert | 2 min read | 05.01.26
New Executive Order Promoting Fixed Price Contracting: What It Means for Federal Contractors
Client Alert | 8 min read | 05.01.26
Pre-Approved: ICO Publishes Guidance on "Recognised Legitimate Interests”
Client Alert | 6 min read | 04.29.26
CMS Seeks to Expand Interoperability Requirements to Drug Pre-Authorization (FAQ)
