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Sixth Circuit Rejects DOJ's "Fairyland" Damages Calculation and Awards Actual Damages Based on Benefit of the Bargain

Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.12.16

In U.S. ex rel. Wall v. Circle C Constr., LLC, (Feb. 4, 2016), the Sixth Circuit rejected the government's "creative" accounting in an FCA case based on violations of the Davis-Bacon Act, vacating a treble damages award of $763,000 where the defendant's subcontractor underpaid its employees for electrical work at numerous Army warehouses by a total of $9,900, and remanding with instructions to award only $14,748 (after applying a settlement payment by the subcontractor). "Actual damages by definition are damages grounded in reality," the court reasoned in rejecting the notion that all of the subcontractor's electrical work was "tainted" or rendered worthless by the underpayments, particularly where the harm was easily calculated and there was no dispute as to the work performed given that "the government turns on the lights every day."

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.25.24

JUST RELEASED: EPA’s Bold New Strategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Collaboration Policy

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) just issued its new Strategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Policy, setting the stage for the new manner in which the agency manages its pollution investigations. David M. Uhlmann, the head of OECA, signed the Policy memorandum on April 17, 2024, in order to ensure that EPA’s civil and criminal enforcement offices collaborate efficiently and consistently in cases across the nation. The Policy states, “EPA must exercise enforcement discretion reasonably when deciding whether a particular matter warrants criminal, civil, or administrative enforcement. Criminal enforcement should be reserved for the most egregious violations.” Uhlmann repeated this statement during a luncheon on April 23, 2024, while also emphasizing the new level of energy this collaborative effort has brought to the enforcement programs....

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