The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) preference programs can be vital for small businesses trying to compete in the potentially lucrative world of U.S. government contracting, but participation in these programs is not without risk. Indeed, the programs can be fraught with peril and contain many landmines for those who do not understand and diligentlyRead More
The Remedy of Divestiture: Steves and Sons, Inc. v. JELD-WEN, Inc. For what is believed to be the first time ever, a private plaintiff successfully challenged an already consummated merger under antitrust law and won divestiture as part of its remedy. Does this pose a potential increased risk of antitrust enforcement remedies of divestiture onlyRead More
On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced the first, and long-anticipated, civil settlement resolving allegations of fraud involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Up until last week, PPP enforcement primarily involved egregious criminal matters resulting from brazen, “low-hanging fruit” violations, but Brigham Taylor and SlideBelts, Inc.Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020 and Congress responded with legislation to provide a variety of forms of relief to small and large businesses and nonprofits, as well as individuals. In addition to providing relief under vehicles such as the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL),Read More
Leo Tolstoy famously began his 1877 novel Anna Karenina with the observation, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Much the same could be said of government contractors that find themselves in hot water relating to false claims. Two recent settlements by government contractors remind us that thereRead More
