In 2015 Hahnenkamm, LLC agreed to sell a 39.25-acre tract of land overlooking Lake Tahoe in Nevada to the U.S. Forest Service for $5.03 million. Soon after the sale, Hahnenkamm began to suspect that the sale price, which was supposed to be based on an independent, professional appraisal made by the Forest Service, was less than the property’s fair market value. Hahnenkamm therefore sued the Government, asserting a breach of the sale contract and of the two statutes that authorized the Forest Service’s acquisition of the property—the Santini-Burton Act and the Southern Nevada Public Land Manag ..read more

John Doe served as a confidential informant for the IRS in a criminal payroll and corporate income tax evasion investigation.  Doe claims that IRS agents promised to pay him a reward of 15% of any taxes collected because of information he provided to them about his then-employer. At the IRS’s behest, Doe remained employed with the employer under investigation, and based on information Doe provided, the IRS succeeded in obtaining plea agreements with target principals of the investigation. The IRS also succeeded in collecting an undisclosed but apparently significant sum in taxes owed and ..read more

  (Washington, D.C. – October 15, 2020) Nancie G. Marzulla, a founding partner of Marzulla Law LLC, today received the U.S. Court of Federal Claims James Madison Award at the Court’s 31st Annual Virtual Judicial Conference for her “outstanding service to the Court.” Nancie is Co-Chair of the Court of Federal Claims Chief Judge’s Advisory Council, is a Past President of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association, and is a longstanding member of the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association and the Federal Circuit Bar Association. The Madison Award is presented to members of the Court ..read more

In 1970, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources entered into a flood control and water supply contract for the Caesar Creek Project, which is located at a tributary of the Little Miami River in Ohio. The Caesar Creek Project is a flood control reservoir for the Ohio River Basin, constructed under the Flood Control Act of 1938. Under the parties’ agreement, Ohio promised to pay the Corps 12.7% of the annual experienced joint-use operation and maintenance costs of the Project in exchange for water storage space in the Project. The charges were to ..read more

The North American Landscaping, Construction and Dredge Company contracted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the dredging of a creek in Virginia. The Corps was to pay North American based on the quantity of material it removed from the creek bed. The contract provided a process for the Corps to accept the work and prepare a calculation of material removed. Fourteen days before the completion of the work, North American was to request an after-dredging Survey from the Corps, to be used by the Corps in evaluating the work. In 2015, North American performed dredging of the river ..read more

Patricia Fields was employed as an athletic trainer from June 7, 2010, to February 4, 2011, at the Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Base Camp in Lejeune, North Carolina. As a result of her struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder during her employment at the Hospital, she was removed from her position and subsequently could not find any other employment with the federal government. In 2012 Fields filed an informal charge of discrimination, claiming that the agency had discriminated against her because of her physical and mental disabilities. Through mediation, the parties negotia ..read more

                      As the Civil War drew to a close, President Lincoln spoke of the nation’s duty “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.” Today the primary responsibility for the care of our military veterans lies with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The health care administration within this agency is the country’s largest integrated health care system, providing care at 1,255 health care facilities, including 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient sites of care of varying comple ..read more

In Fox Logistics & Construction Co. v. United States, No. 18-139C (September 25, 2019), the plaintiff, a subcontractor, alleged that the Government had breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing under an Air Force contract for construction of the Hindand Air Force Base in Afghanistan. Fox asserted a claim for $11.7 million as a third-party beneficiary of the construction contract, and as a party to an implied-in-fact contract. The Government moved to dismiss, arguing that Fox had no privity of contract with the United States and therefore the U.S. Court of Federal Claims lacked subj ..read more

In 2010, Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act as part of a comprehensive scheme of health insurance reform.  One provision of the reform Act included a cost-sharing reduction designed to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses paid by individuals whose household income is between 100% and 250% of the poverty line. Under the Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must reimburse the insurers for cost-sharing reductions they make. The Act states that “the Secretary [of HHS] shall make periodic and timely payments to insurers ‘equal to the value of the reductions’ made by the insurers ..read more

MW Builders, Inc. subcontracted with Bergelectric to provide a complete electrical system under the contract’s plans and specifications. The subcontract also required Bergelectric to provide temporary power to the project site, prior to the installation of permanent power. To receive payments under the subcontract, Bergelectric had to sign lien waivers and releases and submit them to MW Builders, with applications for payment. Bergelectric also had to sign lien wavers and releases, stating: “[Bergelectric] irrevocably and unconditionally releases and waives any and all mechanic’s liens or othe ..read more