Parent's No-Debarment Agreement Doesn't Stop CO Finding Sub Lacks Integrity
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.21.08
In OSG Product Tankers, LLC v. U.S. (June 30, 2008), the Court of Federal Claims held that a CO could disqualify a contractor as not "presently responsible" due to lack of integrity because the contractor's parent had pled guilty to a number of felonies, despite an agency settlement agreement with the parent ruling out the parent's debarment as long as it complied with its plea agreement. According to the court, the debarment settlement involving the parent did not estop the CO's independent non-responsibility decision regarding the subsidiary, even though the lack of integrity finding was based on the actions of the parent.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26
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.
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FedRAMP Solicits Public Comment on Overhaul to Incident Communications Procedures
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