Size Matters: Past Performance Rating Not Supported by Small Task Orders
Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.13.15
In sustaining the contractor's protest filed by C&M against the Air Force's $110 million award for F-15 support services, GAO held that the agency erred by (1) giving the awardee the highest past performance rating for prior delivery orders worth "only approximately 0.14 percent of the estimated value of the effort required by the RFP" and (2) failing to document how the awardee's other "$5.36 billion portfolio" bore any relevance to the services being solicited. In rejecting the agency's reliance upon tiny delivery orders and post hoc litigation arguments, GAO relied heavily upon its 2009 precedent in Health Net Fed. Services, LLC (also a C&M case), in which the agency attempted to defend its past performance evaluation based upon the awardee's general industry experience without any discussion of how that performance related to the services specified under the RFP.
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Client Alert | 5 min read | 12.12.25
Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality
On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument.
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.11.25
Director Squires Revamps the Workings of the U.S. Patent Office
Client Alert | 8 min read | 12.10.25
Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright for Applied Art
Client Alert | 4 min read | 12.10.25
Federal Court Strikes Down Interior Order Suspending Wind Energy Development
