For Iraq War Items Sole Source Award, COFC Grants Limited Injunctive Relief Despite OCI And CICA Violations
Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.21.04
In Filtration Dev. Co. LLC v. U.S. (April 27, 2004), the Court of Federal Claims found (1) that a sole source award for filtration kits (to protect helicopters in Iraq from sand damage) that included a directed subcontract violated organizational conflict of interest (OCI) prohibitions because, even though it had performed no work on that system, the subcontractor held a Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) contract for the system, and (2) that the urgent and compelling circumstances justification and approval (J&A) for the sole source action, despite explicitly authorizing procurement of a larger number of kits than already ordered by the prime from the designated subcontractor, was limited by the scope of the current emergency to the smaller order already placed. The court granted injunctive relief, but only to preclude further contracts or orders without a new J&A, and declined to enjoin the government from including the directed subcontractor in future competitions or contracting actions because, inter alia, the OCI could be waived.
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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
