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Jurisdiction Found Over 85-804 Indemnification Clause Breach Claims

Client Alert | 1 min read | 05.01.06

In an important case of first impression, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals in The Boeing Co. (Apr. 12, 2006, http://www.crowell.com/pdf/expertise/govtcontracts/ASBCA_decision.pdf), has held that it has jurisdiction under the Contract Disputes Act to consider claims for the costs of investigation and remediation of ground water pollution and toxic tort litigation under indemnification clauses authorized pursuant to the “residual powers” authority of Public Law 85-804 and 10 U.S.C. § 2354. The Board concluded that Public Law 85-804, 10 U.S.C. § 2354, and statutory and contractual provisions allegedly providing for secretarial and/or congressional approval did not divest the Board of its CDA jurisdiction because, inter alia , acceptance of such arguments would render the indemnification clauses, which were included in prime contracts awarded to Boeing and subcontracts awarded to Lockheed Martin Corporation in the 1960s and 1970s, “illusory.”

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 09.15.25

Senate Finance Committee Looking to Take White River to the Train Station, Confirms DOJ Investigation into Tribal Tax Credits

On August 19, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (“Senate Finance Committee”) sent Paul Atkins, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a letter calling on the SEC to investigate White River Energy Corp (“White River”). In the letter, the Senate Finance Committee confirmed a criminal investigation into White River related to the sale of so-called “tribal tax credits” that according to both Congress and the IRS, do not exist. The letter further states that White River allegedly earned millions of dollars selling these credits and has not been forthcoming with investors regarding the existence of the criminal investigation. According to the Senate Finance Committee, White River has failed to file financial disclosure documents with the SEC since March 15, 2024, missing six consecutive reporting periods. The letter instructs White River to disclose the existence of the DOJ criminal tax investigation, and calls on the SEC to take action if White River fails to do so....

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