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Ignorance of The Law

Client Alert | 1 min read | 11.11.09

In what, fortunately, is not a precedential decision, in Teknowledge Corp. v. U.S. (Nov. 3, 2009), the Federal Circuit finds that the cost of software development effort is not allocable to Government business because there is no demonstrated "benefit" to the Government. While it is not clear, based on the facts reported in the decision, that the result would be different -- and as we have reported in a prior Bullet Point about the decision of the Court of Federal Claims in the same case -- neither party apparently pointed out to either court that FAR incorporates the requirements of CAS 420, which specifically addresses the allocation issue in the case and requires a different analysis than the "benefit to the Government" rationale that the courts applied.

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 09.15.26

GAO Indicates Reasonable Conflict of Interest Investigation Must Include Inquiry of Involved Firm

The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recent decision in Viderity Inc.—Costs, B-424422.5, Sept. 1, 2026, offers useful insight into what constitutes a legally sufficient conflict of interest investigation. The decision arose in an unusual procedural posture: Viderity initially protested, alleging that an agency evaluator had a personal conflict of interest. After the agency took corrective action, Viderity filed a cost entitlement claim requesting that GAO direct the agency to reimburse Viderity’s protest costs. In evaluating that claim, GAO assessed whether Viderity’s underlying protest ground was “clearly meritorious.”...