Court Of Federal Claims Examines Contracting Authority
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.05.08
Following a recent Federal Circuit decision, Winter v. Cath-Dr/Balti Joint Venture (Aug. 17, 2007), which held that a contractor cannot rely on a government agent's implied authority when the contract "explicitly and exclusively" assigns the particular function to the CO, the Court of Federal Claims reaffirmed the viability of implied authority in Stevens Van Lines v. U.S. (Jan. 23, 2008). In Stevens, Senior Judge Smith held that a government official has implied authority to bind the government when "such authority is considered to be an integral part of the duties assigned" to that employee and when the power to contract is "appropriate or essential" to the performance of the employee's duties.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 03.24.26
California Considering A Massive Expansion of Its Antitrust Laws
Legislative efforts to significantly expand California’s antitrust laws are working their way through the state legislature. The most comprehensive overhaul is Assembly Bill 1776 — the Competition and Opportunity in Markets for a Prosperous, Equitable and Transparent Economy (COMPETE) Act, introduced by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, on March 23, 2026. AB 1776 is modeled closely after draft legislation recommended by the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) in December. AB 1776 would not only significantly expand potential liability for single-firm conduct and monopolization but would also explicitly decouple California antitrust analysis from certain federal standards. Companies doing business in California should pay close attention to AB 1776 because of its potentially dramatic impact, including increased exposure to antitrust litigation and increased compliance costs.
Client Alert | 2 min read | 03.23.26
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.23.26
Client Alert | 7 min read | 03.23.26
