Blog
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | July 3, 2019 |
Business Litigation
GAMBLE v. UNITED STATES, ___ U.S. ___ No. 17-646 (2019) I. Facts and lower court rulings In 2008, Terance Gamble was convicted of a felony in Alabama. Subsequently, in 2015, Gamble was stopped for a traffic violation. The officer detected the odor of marijuana emanating from Gamble’s vehicle, and he…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | June 26, 2019 |
Business Litigation
NIEVES v. BARTLETT, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-1174 (28 May 2019). Facts and lower court rulings Russell Bartlett was arrested during an event in Alaska called “Arctic Man,” a winter sports festival in the remote Hoodoo Mountains near Paxson, Alaska. Paxson is a small community of a few dozen residents. …
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | June 17, 2019 |
Government Contracts
A common contractor complaint is that the government rarely does things differently – that there is little, if any, initiative, in government contracting. Surprisingly, according to a little-known provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), innovation in government contracting is FAR policy. Even more surprising, perhaps, is that FAR gives…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | June 17, 2019 |
Government Contracts
Even though past performance evaluations play a critical role in a contractor getting future contracts, contractors rarely challenge bad past performance ratings or the improper way an agency carries out its required past performance evaluation responsibilities described in FAR Subpart 42.15. One of the most common agency errors seems to…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | June 13, 2019 |
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
In a recent decision on a motion to dismiss, a federal district judge in the Eastern District of California served a reminder that the cybersecurity requirements included in federal contracts have some teeth. United States ex rel. Brian Markus v. Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. and Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. is…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | June 5, 2019 |
Business Litigation
FRANCHISE TAX BOARD OF CALIFORNIA V. HYATT, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-1299 (13 May 2019). Although this case does not concern a dispute over a will, this long and costly litigation resembles the fictional Court of Chancery case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce conjured by Charles Dickens in his novel Bleak…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | May 21, 2019 |
Government Contracts
When submitting proposal information to the government, an offeror needs to know that not all deadlines are the same. For example, the deadline for submitting technical information is typically the deadline for submission of initial offers. However, the deadline for submitting responsibility information can be much later in the solicitation…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | May 20, 2019 |
M&A and Corporate
This past April, the U.S. Department of Justice updated its guidance document setting forth policies and examples to assist federal prosecutors in evaluating compliance programs. As those within highly regulated industries like government contracting and health care already know, the fact that a company has a well-designed and effective compliance…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | May 16, 2019 |
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
LAMPS PLUS, INC. v. VARELA, ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-988 (24 April 2019). The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. §2, requires courts to enforce arbitration agreements according to their terms. In Stolt-Nielsen, S.A. v. AnimalFeeds, Int’l Corp., 559 U.S. 662 (2010), the Court held that a court may compel…
On Behalf of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP | May 9, 2019 |
Business Litigation
JAM v. INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORP., ___ U.S. ___, No. 17-1011 (27 February 2019) The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international organization headquartered in the United States. The IFC finances private-sector development projects in poor and developing countries. The IFC financed the construction of a power plant in India. Local…
