State Higher Ed Entities Face Arm-of-the-State Test
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 06.25.12
In US ex rel. Oberg v. Ky. Higher Educ., the Fourth Circuit considered whether corporate entities created by several states to provide higher education financing (and accused of making false claims to DOE) are "persons" subject to FCA liability. The court stated that "the critical inquiry is whether [the entities] are truly subject to sufficient state control to render them a part of the state, and not a 'person,'" and instructed that Eleventh Amendment "arm-of-the-state" analysis applies to determine if they are subject to liability.
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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
