Reliance on Supplier's Country of Origin Certification Reasonable
Client Alert | 1 min read | 09.04.14
On August 29, 2014, the D.C. Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment for the contractor in a qui tam FCA case alleging Govplace had violated the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) by unreasonably relying on the distributor's country of origin certification and selling IT hardware that allegedly failed to comply with the TAA. The court concluded not only that Govplace could reasonably rely on the distributor's certification (a practice it had disclosed to GSA during Contractor Administrator Visits), but also that, because the hardware was generally manufactured in both TAA-designated countries and in non-designated countries, neither an email from the manufacturer's employee nor a competitor's price list suggesting conflicting country of origin information undermined Govplace's continued reliance on the distributor's certification.
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.25.25
Arkansas Takes Aim at PBM Ownership of Retail Pharmacies
On April 17, 2025, Arkansas recently became the first state to enact broad restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers (“PBMs”) owning retail pharmacies within the state.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 04.23.25
Auto Dealers: Buckle-Up Enhanced State-Level Enforcement Ahead
Client Alert | 2 min read | 04.23.25
Client Alert | 11 min read | 04.23.25