Ode to Boilerplate
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 05.02.14
In DMS Imaging Inc. v. U.S. (CFC Apr. 30, 2014), a boilerplate severability clause may have saved the contractor's claim for damages after equipment it leased to the government was destroyed. The government argued that the contractor's standard lease terms, expressly incorporated into the contract with the government, were invalid because they included an indemnification clause alleged to violate the Anti-Deficiency Act, but the CFC found the government liable for damages to the equipment under a separate, risk-of-loss clause, which was not invalidated because, even if the indemnification clause were unenforceable, a third boilerplate provision provided that unenforceable or void provisions would be deemed severable.
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Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.14.26
On Friday, April 10, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay just over $17 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by failing to comply with federal anti-discrimination requirements incorporated into its federal contracts due to allegedly discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) employment practices. This resolution marks the first FCA settlement secured by the DOJ under its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, created in May 2025, and announced by then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of the administration’s coordinated efforts to target allegedly unlawful DEI practices. Per the agreement, the settlement is neither an admission of liability by IBM nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.
Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.14.26
FedRAMP Solicits Public Comment on Overhaul to Incident Communications Procedures
Client Alert | 5 min read | 04.14.26
Client Alert | 4 min read | 04.14.26
