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Relying on a Parent's Experience and Resources in Your Proposal? Some Explanation Required

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 01.21.16

In Deloitte Consulting, LLP (Nov. 16, 2015), GAO disapproved of the agency crediting a subsidiary with the experience of its corporate parent when the subsidiary's proposal said little more than it receives substantial support from the parent and did not identify which resources and experiences related to which entity. GAO also ruled that, merely because the corporate parent novated to its subsidiary the Federal Supply Schedule contract and blanket purchase agreement under which the contract was awarded, it did not mean that the subsidiary "successor in interest" necessarily had the same resources or experience as its predecessor.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25

A Sign of What’s to Come? Court Dismisses FCA Retaliation Complaint Based on Alleged Discriminatory Use of Federal Funding

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....

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