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In its recently published FY 2025 Annual Report (Report), the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) provided detailed statistics about appeals involving disputes between contractors and civilian agencies.  This past year, the civilian agencies with the highest number of docketed claims at the Board were the Department of Veterans Affairs (70 appeals), the United States Agency for International Development (43 appeals), the General Services Administration (36 appeals), the Department of State (12 appeals ), and the Department of Education (12 appeals).  These agencies accounted for 173, or approximately 78%, of the 221 Contract Disputes Act (CDA) appeals docketed at the Board. Continue Reading CBCA’s FY 2025 Report – Examining the Numbers

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Every year since 1979, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) has issued a Report of Transactions and Proceedings (Report), which provides helpful statistics for contractors and practitioners regarding the ASBCA’s docket and success rates for contractor litigation and ADR.  The ASBCA published its FY 2025 Report on October 30, 2025. Continue Reading ASBCA’s FY 2025 Report – A Look at the Numbers

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On the morning of December 12, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit heard argument in United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, et al., No. 24-13581 (11th Cir. 2025). This case concerns the constitutionality of the False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam provisions and a groundbreaking September 2024 opinion in which the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the FCA’s qui tam provisions were unconstitutional under Article II. See United States ex rel. Zafirov v. Fla. Med. Assocs., LLC, 751 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. 2024). That decision, penned by District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, was the first success story for a legal theory that has been gaining steam ever since Justices Thomas, Barrett, and Kavanaugh indicated they would be willing to consider arguments about the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions in U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Exec. Health Res., 599 U.S. 419 (2023). In her opinion, Judge Mizelle held (1) qui tam relators are officers of the U.S. who must be appointed under the Appointments Clause; and (2) historical practice treating qui tam and similar relators as less than “officers” for constitutional purposes was not enough to save the qui tam provisions from the fundamental Article II infirmity the court identified. That ruling was appealed and, after full briefing, including by the government and a bevy of amici, the litigants stepped up to the plate this morning for oral argument.Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Hears Argument on False Claims Act Qui Tam Constitutionality

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On December 5, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) sent letters to 4,300 current and recent participants in the 8(a) Business Development Program requiring production by January 5, 2026, of financial records, contracting and subcontracting agreements, and employee records.  Below we discuss the genesis of the U.S. Government’s focus on fraud in small business programs, the new SBA request for documents, the coming Treasury audit of preference-based contracts, and more.Continue Reading SBA Office of General Counsel Audit of Participants in the 8(a) Program and Beyond

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The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  In this series, Crowell Consultant (and former GAO Bid Protest Hearing Officer) Cherie Owen provides a monthly summary of a notable bid protest sustain decision. However, October 2025 was an unusual month: due to the government shutdown and lapse in appropriations, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was closed for the entire month. Protesters could not file new protests, and GAO did not issue any decisions. While the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) remained open, the few protest decisions announced did not include any sustained protests. Sustain-less months are not unprecedented—we’ve previously noted similar droughts in May 2025, February 2025, July 2024, October 2023, and February 2023. Continue Reading October 2025 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month: Amid Shutdown Silence, A Look at COFC’s Prejudice Ruling

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This week’s episode covers Pentagon’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy announced by Secretary Hegseth on November 7, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Yuan Zhou. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts lawyer or executive should…

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The facts before the Third Circuit in the recently decided case of Patel v. United States illustrate how parties can put themselves in a bind if they make factual admissions when resolving a criminal case involving fraud on the government while not simultaneously resolving the government’s civil claims under the False Claims Act (FCA) for the same underlying conduct.Continue Reading Buying Peace: The Importance of Releasing FCA Liability When Resolving Criminal Allegations of Fraud Against the Government

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The following is an installment in Crowell & Moring’s Bid Protest Sustain of the Month Series.  In this series, Crowell’s Government Contracts Group will keep you up to date with a summary of one of the most notable bid protest sustain decisions each month.  Below, Crowell Consultant (and former GAO Bid Protest Hearing Officer) Cherie Owen discusses GAO’s decision sustaining the protest of Island Peer Review Organization, Inc., d/b/a IPRO.Continue Reading September 2025 Bid Protest Sustain of the Month: GAO Criticizes Agency’s Lack of Documentation, Highlighting the Importance of Contemporaneous Recordkeeping

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This week’s episode covers common questions about the end of the federal government shutdown and steps contractors should consider, and is hosted by Peter Eyre and Skye Mathieson. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory developments that no government contracts…

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As the government emerges from its recent shutdown, federal contractors—and their counsel—must prepare for a surge in bid protest activity, especially at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). The shutdown brought the regular bid protest process to a standstill, and its reopening is set to create unprecedented backlogs and overlapping deadlines. Here’s what contractors should anticipate in the coming days and weeks.Continue Reading Restarting the Protest Process: What Government Contractors Can Expect as the Shutdown Ends