Government Sees $104 Million Verdict Vanish After Its Theory of Liability Is Rejected Post-Trial
Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.08.15
U.S. ex rel. Bunk v. Birkart Globalistics, an FCA case spanning twelve years and two jury trials, came to an apparent end when the district court set aside the jury's verdict and damages award of $104 million, ruling that the government's theory of liability failed as a matter of law. The government's upset "expectations" of competitive bidding was itself an insufficient ground for a finding of falsity, and the government failed to show that any of the cargo carriers bidding on the contracts "presented a claim for payment based on a prime rate that was, in fact, inflated because of Gosselin's alleged conduct" and failed to present sufficient evidence of damages.
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Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.05.26
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed another revision to independent contractor regulations, one that would provide for more leeway in classifying workers as contractors. DOL’s proposed rule, published on February 26, 2026, would rescind the Biden DOL’s March 2024 independent contractor regulation and reinstate a framework substantially tracking the prior Trump rule of January 2021. The proposed rule would also apply the narrower analysis to worker classifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). The comment period closes in late April 2026; until then, the 2024 rule remains in effect for purposes of private litigation.
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