Government Contracts

Government Contracts

Look Before You Lend: A Lender's Guide to Financing Government Contracts Pursuant to the Assignment of Claims Act
      Heidi M. Schooner and Steven L. Schooner, 48(2): 535–65 (Feb. 1993)
Government receivables offer an enticing source of collateral in the financing of government contracts. Lending against government receivables, however, has its own inherent risks. This Article analyzes the Assignment of Claims Act, the federal statute allowing for the assignment of receivables from the government. It further explores situations in which the government may not be required to pay the assignee, despite a valid assignment. The Article also describes the procedure for asserting a claim against the government for payment of an assigned receivable.

As False Claim Penalties Mount, Defendants Scramble for Answers Qui Tam Liability, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.
     Tipton F. McCubbins and Tara I. Fitzgerald, 62(1): 103–134 (November 2006)
Claims against those who defraud the Federal Government particularly in the health care industry are on the rise. Whistleblowers are using the False Claims Act to reap windfall benefits by filing suit on behalf of both themselves and the government against the wrongdoers. Payouts in such cases frequently exceed $1 million, fueling an explosion in the number of whistleblower suits. This article discusses a number of issues critical to the question of recovery under the False Claims Act. Among these are determining which parties have standing to bring suit and conversely which potential defendants are immune from suit. Also discussed are the elements that a false claim must possess in order to be actionable, how the number of false claims an individual defendant has filed should be counted, and when the civil penalties associated with the cumulative number of claims becomes an unconstitutionally excessive fine. Finally, the potential jurisdictional bar to a plaintiff's suit is considered with special emphasis given to the application of the "original source" element of that bar.