Iraq War Contractor Navigates CDA Jurisdictional Minefield to Victory
Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.10.17
In Leviathan Corp. (Apr. 20, 2017), the ASBCA ruled in favor of Crowell & Moring client Leviathan in its 11-year contract dispute with the U.S. Army. Leviathan delivered military supplies to the Iraqi army during the Iraq War. The contract was technically between a different prime contractor and the Coalition Provisional Authority (the predecessor to the new Iraqi government), not the U.S. government. The U.S. Army administered the contract and signed a termination settlement agreement. But the Army refused to pay Leviathan because the Government argued that: (1) the Board lacked jurisdiction over Coalition contracts, (2) Leviathan lacked standing because it was not the prime contractor, and (3) a termination settlement is not a CDA “procurement” contract. Leviathan successfully argued that the Army and Leviathan both became parties to the contract through two respective implied-in-fact novations. Further, because of the Army’s novation, the Army stepped into the Coalition’s shoes from the outset, thereby converting the original contract into a CDA “procurement” contract.
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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
