Too Bad, So Sad
Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.25.06
In a "twist" that reminds one of the immortal words of Mr. Bumble, "If the law supposes that, then the law
is a a--," after the Court of Federal Claims had held last year in Int'l Data Products Corp. v. U.S. that the termination of an IT products provider's contract also extinguished its warranty obligations for products already delivered, Judge George Miller has now held (Apr. 10, 2006) that the contractor cannot recover under any contract theory (including quantum meruit ) for the warranty services provided after termination, which the contractor had provided under protest because the government threatened default and debarment if it did not. The court reasoned that, because there was no written contract after the termination and because the contractor had never agreed to provide the post-termination services willingly, there was neither an express nor an implied contract for the services, depriving the court of jurisdiction.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
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.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
