Procurement Playbook

The Supreme Court Decides that a Relator May Have More Than Six Years to File a Qui Tam False Claims Act Complaint

In Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Hunt, 139 S. Ct. 1507 (2019), the Supreme Court of the United States interpreted the statute of limitations (“SOL”) provision of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) to allow a relator’s qui tam action to proceed even though he filed more than six years after the alleged violations occurred (i.e., after the standard SOL period expired).  This decision may restrict SOL defenses for FCA defendants because it confirms that, even if the Government does not intervene, a relator may have up to ten years to file a qui tam action, depending on when “the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act” (to quote the language of the statute) learned the material facts of the right of action. 

The DoD Is Watching Contractor Cyber Security Compliance: DoD Will Use the Defense Contract Management Agency to Audit Contractors’ Supply Chain Compliance with the DFARS Safeguarding Clause

2018 was another banner year for government contract cybersecurity requirements.  Reports separately released by OMB and MITRE suggest that risks for cyber intrusions remain as prevalent as ever, if not more so.  Accordingly, dozens of statutory, regulatory, and agency guidance memoranda on this critical subject were released in 2018 and more are expected to come in 2019, and beyond, as those measures are fleshed out for further development and implementation.

One of these more significant developments is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) increased emphasis on maintaining supply chain integrity for cybersecurity risks.  In this regard, the DFARS Safeguarding Clause 252.204-7012, which applies in all DoD procurements, governs the protection of covered defense information provided to or generated by defense contractors.  In particular, the Clause requires contractors that access covered defense information to take precautions to protect this information.  It also requires that contractors who access this information report cyber incidents, submit malicious software to the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, and facilitate a damages assessment in the event of a cyber incident.  The Clause also defines covered defense information to be unclassified controlled technical information or other information marked as such in the contract, or collected, developed, received, transmitted, used, or stored on behalf of the contractor in support of the performance of the contract.

President Trump Expands Buy American Act – Another Wrench in the Works?

While domestic preference requirements in federal procurements, namely the Buy America and Buy American Acts, are not new their increased emphasis are.  As has been well publicized, a central focus of the Trump Administration has been to encourage and increase the use of domestically sourced products and materials in connection with federal procurements.  Read More…

Know What You’re Signing Up For—The Miller Act Is Now Part of Your Federal Government Construction Project

One of the biggest differences between federal government and commercial contracting is that certain clauses may be incorporated by reference (and hence controlling) in a federal contract even if the clause was not expressly included in the contract by the parties.  In a departure from the general principle that contracts should only reflect the bargain made by the parties, Read More…