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Services In Contract Don't Trump "Non-Manufacturer Rule"

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.13.06

In Rotech Healthcare Inc. v. United States (July 24, 2006), a pre-award bid protest of small business set-aside procurements, the Court of Federal Claims held that the Small Business Act's "non-manufacturer rule" requires recipients of small business set-aside contracts to provide products only of domestic small business manufacturers, even if the contract is for both products and services. Finding, inter alia, that the statute is "clear and unambiguous" in its application of the rule to "any" contract for the supply of a product, Judge Bush rejected government pleas for deference to SBA's less-restrictive applications of the rule and permanently enjoined set-aside awards to offerors who failed to certify compliance.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 07.22.26

FCPA and National Security Objectives Align: DOJ Announces First Settlement Related to Bribes That Benefited Mexican Cartels

On July 17, 2026, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with The Scoular Company (Scoular), an agricultural supply chain company based in Omaha, Nebraska, to resolve allegations that Scoular relied on customs brokers to bribe Mexican government officials to allow Scoular goods to pass customs inspections and be delivered to Mexico from the United States. As part of its resolution, Scoular agreed to pay a $9,769,521 criminal penalty and forfeit an additional $414,351. Scoular also committed to continue cooperating with DOJ on any ongoing or future criminal investigations, implement a compliance and ethics program designed to prevent and detect violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and periodically report to DOJ on remediation and implementation of compliance measures throughout the term of the DPA....