NAFI Contractor Goes Straight to Court When CO Fails to Issue Final Decision
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.24.12
In SUFI Network Servs., Inc, v. U.S. (Jan.17, 2012), the Court of Federal Claims denied the government’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, relying on the Federal Circuit’s decision in Slattery v. U.S., 635 F.2d 1298, 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (en banc), that the court has Tucker Act jurisdiction over all NAFI disputes. The court also found, in this non-CDA matter, that the CO had materially breached the contract’s Disputes clause by failing to provide a final decision on SUFI’s claim within a reasonable time, excusing SUFI from going to the board first, as the clause specified.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
