Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Government Contracts Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Michigan Law Review

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year

Articles 1 - 30 of 31

Full-Text Articles in Government Contracts

Protecting Whistleblowing (And Not Just Whistleblowers), Evan J. Ballan Dec 2017

Protecting Whistleblowing (And Not Just Whistleblowers), Evan J. Ballan

Michigan Law Review

When the government contracts with private parties, the risk of fraud runs high. Fraud against the government hurts everyone: taxpayer money is wasted on inferior or nonexistent products and services, and the public bears the burdens attendant to those inadequate goods. To combat fraud, Congress has developed several statutory frameworks to encourage whistleblowers to come forward and report wrongdoing in exchange for a monetary reward. The federal False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to file an action in federal court on behalf of the United States, and to share in any recovery. Under the Dodd- Frank Act, the SEC Office of …


Linking International Markets And Global Justice, Jeffrey L. Dunoff Apr 2009

Linking International Markets And Global Justice, Jeffrey L. Dunoff

Michigan Law Review

The U.S. government is the planet's largest purchaser of goods and services; worldwide, states spend trillions of dollars on procurement each year. Yet legal scholarship has devoted relatively limited attention to the conceptual and normative issues that arise when states enter the market. Should states as purchasers be permitted to "discriminate" to advance social objectives - say, racial justice - in ways that would be unlawful when they act as regulators? Is each country free to strike its own balance between the pursuit of economic and social objectives through procurement, or do international trade norms limit state discretion in the …


The Dormant Commerce Clause And State-Mandated Preference Laws In Public Contracting: Developing A More Substantive Application Of The Market-Participant Exception, Benjamin C. Bair Jan 1995

The Dormant Commerce Clause And State-Mandated Preference Laws In Public Contracting: Developing A More Substantive Application Of The Market-Participant Exception, Benjamin C. Bair

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that the current focus on the relationship between states and their local governments as the key determinant of the constitutional validity of state-mandated preference laws is flawed. Instead, a court considering the validity of a state-mandated preference law should uphold such a law only if it distributes the benefits of state expenditures to state residents and does not excessively burden interstate commerce.


The Self-Critical Analysis Privilege And Discovery Of Affirmative Action Plans In Title Vii Suits, Michigan Law Review Nov 1984

The Self-Critical Analysis Privilege And Discovery Of Affirmative Action Plans In Title Vii Suits, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that plaintiffs should have access to affirmative action plans in discovery. Part I describes the "self-critical analysis" or "self-evaluative" privilege that employers have advanced to block discovery of such plans. Part II examines the conflicting interests of society, employers and employees in allowing or denying discovery. Part III evaluates the application of a self-critical analysis privilege in light of these conflicting interests and concludes that the privilege should not be applied to affirmative action plans.


Intent Or Impact: Proving Discrimination Under Title Vi Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Michigan Law Review Apr 1982

Intent Or Impact: Proving Discrimination Under Title Vi Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note analyzes the controversy and concludes that courts must apply an impact standard in title VI cases. After reviewing the relevant Supreme Court decisions, Part I contends that Bakke did not overrule Lau's approval of an impact standard. Part II examines the regulations on which the Lau court relied. It first characterizes them as legislative; they derive the force of law from an explicit congressional delegation of substantive power. Part II then tests the regulations' impact standard against the language, legislative history, and policy of title VI and finds it valid. Since courts may not disregard valid legislative regulations, …


Minority Enterprise, Federal Contracting, And The Sba's 8 (A) Program: A New Approach To An Old Problem, Michigan Law Review Dec 1972

Minority Enterprise, Federal Contracting, And The Sba's 8 (A) Program: A New Approach To An Old Problem, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In partial response to the problems of the minority businessman, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has developed the 8(a) Program to channel government contracts to businesses owned by disadvantaged persons. This is accomplished through a procedure whereby the SBA contracts with another federal agency to provide that agency with goods or services, and then subcontracts that obligation to a qualified small business on a noncompetitive basis. The withdrawal of these contracts from competitive bidding has recently resulted in the institution of a number of federal court suits alleging inter alia that the 8(a) Program denies to whites the equal protection …


Federal Criminal Procedure-Subpoena Of Nonresident Citizen As Witness Before Grand Jury, Andre A. Schwartz Apr 1964

Federal Criminal Procedure-Subpoena Of Nonresident Citizen As Witness Before Grand Jury, Andre A. Schwartz

Michigan Law Review

Defendant, a nonresident citizen of the United States, was subpoenaed by a federal district court to appear before a grand jury investigating alleged fraud in the procurement of government contracts. Defendant having failed to appear, the district court issued an order directing him to show cause why he should not be held in contempt. On appeal from a judgment holding defendant in contempt, held, reversed, one judge dissenting in part. The power of a federal district court to subpoena a nonresident citizen is limited to the actual trial of a criminal action. United States v. Thompson, 319 F.2d …


Government Contracts-Judicial Review Under Disputes Clause, Amos J. Coffman Jr. Apr 1964

Government Contracts-Judicial Review Under Disputes Clause, Amos J. Coffman Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In a factual dispute arising under a standard government construction contract, the contractor followed the procedures required by the disputes clause. The contractor, after its claim was denied by the contracting officer, appealed to the Board of Claims and Appeals of the Corps of Engineers. The Board rejected the claim, and the contractor brought suit in the Court of Claims, alleging, in the words of the Wunderlich Act, that the Board's decision was "capricious or arbitrary or so grossly erroneous as necessarily to imply bad faith, or was not supported by substantial evidence." Over the Government's objection, a commissioner of …


Constitutional Law-Relation Of Federal And State Governments- Applicability Of State Minimum Price Regulations To Federal Procurement, Alexander E. Bennett Dec 1963

Constitutional Law-Relation Of Federal And State Governments- Applicability Of State Minimum Price Regulations To Federal Procurement, Alexander E. Bennett

Michigan Law Review

The United States accepted the lowest bids for the supply of milk at three military installations in California. Because these bids were below the minimum prices for wholesale milk prescribed by state law, California instituted proceedings in the state courts for civil damages and injunctive relief against the successful bidders. The United States brought a separate action in a federal district court asking that the state be enjoined from applying its minimum price regulations to milk purchases by the armed services on the grounds that the military installations were federal enclaves over which the United States has exclusive jurisdiction and …


Patents-Procedure-Applicability Of Invention Secrecy Act Where Government Use Of Invention Is Authorized, Thomas G. Dignan Jr. Nov 1963

Patents-Procedure-Applicability Of Invention Secrecy Act Where Government Use Of Invention Is Authorized, Thomas G. Dignan Jr.

Michigan Law Review

After extended negotiations, plaintiff entered into a contract with the United States for the development of a new model "hemisphere sight," a mock-up of which plaintiff had previously revealed to the Air Force. Acting upon a request by the Air Force, the Commissioner of Patents issued a secrecy order on the gun sight pursuant to provisions of the Invention Secrecy Act, thus preventing the issuance of a patent to the plaintiff. In order for the United States to have a second source of supply for the sights, the plaintiff revealed its engineering information to another manufacturer upon governmental request to …


Suretyship-Subrogation-Rights Of Surety To Funds Withheld Under A Government Contract, William T. Holcomb Jr. Dec 1962

Suretyship-Subrogation-Rights Of Surety To Funds Withheld Under A Government Contract, William T. Holcomb Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner surety, under the terms of its payment bond, paid laborers and materialmen of a government contractor, who was later adjudicated bankrupt. The Government paid to the trustee in bankruptcy funds it had retained but which had been earned prior to termination of the contract. The district court1 reversed the referee's ruling denying the surety's petition for an order directing the trustee to transfer the retained funds to the surety. On appeal, held, affirmed. The surety was entitled to the funds, in preference to the trustee in bankruptcy, by subrogation to the laborers' and materialmen's equitable priority in the …


Federal Courts - Choice Of Law Application Of Federal Law To Government Subcontract In Federal Diversity Case, H. C. Snyder Jr. Dec 1961

Federal Courts - Choice Of Law Application Of Federal Law To Government Subcontract In Federal Diversity Case, H. C. Snyder Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Defendant obtained a government missile contract, and plaintiff was subcontracted to manufacture containers for the missiles. When certain changes in elements of the containers were ordered by the Government, plaintiff demanded an "equitable adjustment" from defendant pursuant to the terms of the subcontract. Defendant paid only the costs of effecting the necessary changes. Plaintiff instituted this suit in federal district court alleging diversity of citizenship and demanding that the adjustment include, as allowed by California law, compensation for overhead losses caused by a partial work stoppage during the delay in effecting the changes. The district court characterized the contract as …


Constitutional Law - Relation Of Federal And State Governments Applicability Of State Licensing Statute To Federal Contractors, Lee N. Abrams S.Ed. Jun 1957

Constitutional Law - Relation Of Federal And State Governments Applicability Of State Licensing Statute To Federal Contractors, Lee N. Abrams S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A contractor submitted a bid for construction of facilities at an Arkansas Air Force Base over which the United States had not acquired jurisdiction. After this bid was accepted by the federal government and work on the project had begun, the contractor was tried by the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, and found guilty of submitting a bid, executing a contract, and commencing work as a contractor without the license required by Arkansas law. The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. On appeal to the United States Supreme Court, held, reversed. In a brief …


Incidents Of The Government-Servant Relationship, Ivor L.M. Richardson Mar 1956

Incidents Of The Government-Servant Relationship, Ivor L.M. Richardson

Michigan Law Review

The procedures developed in the past five years to meet the threat of communist infiltration into public employment have focused attention on the position of persons working for the federal government. However, the loyalty program and the general problem of dismissal are not the only aspects of federal employment which raise important issues. Other aspects of the government-servant relationship may be of even greater importance to the civil servant in practice. For instance, what are his legal rights to his salary or to his pension if the government refuses to pay? Can he secure redress if he is suspended from …


Contracts - Offer And Acceptance - Effect Of Post Office Regulations On Adams V. Lindsell Doctrine, Norman A. Zilber S.Ed. Feb 1956

Contracts - Offer And Acceptance - Effect Of Post Office Regulations On Adams V. Lindsell Doctrine, Norman A. Zilber S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff, a bidder on a government contract, attempted to withdraw its bid upon discovering that it had made a mistake in its calculations. The revocation arrived at the government's office the same day the acceptance of the bid was mailed. The government's invitation to bid provided that "the successful bidder will receive Notice of Award ... and such Award will thereupon constitute a binding contract ... .'' Upon the government's refusal to recognize the revocation, the plaintiff brought suit to recover losses resulting from performance at the bid price. Held, there was no binding contract. Since the post office …


Administrative Discretion In The Award Of Federal Contracts, Arthur S. Miller Apr 1955

Administrative Discretion In The Award Of Federal Contracts, Arthur S. Miller

Michigan Law Review

For our present purposes, the point to be seen is that while this article is inquiring into the question of choice of contractor, the government is largely in control of the other chief attribute of traditional liberty of contract: the terms and conditions of the contract itself. We may thus summarize a first conclusion in the inquiry under consideration in this manner: the government is under no restraint as to many of the terms and conditions of its contracts and may impose those conditions it deems necessary. These are imposed as a result of a statute (an example of …


Contracts - Consideration - Effect Of Option To Withdraw Government Surplus Property From Sale, Arthur M. Wisehart S.Ed. Feb 1954

Contracts - Consideration - Effect Of Option To Withdraw Government Surplus Property From Sale, Arthur M. Wisehart S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Office of Surplus Property accepted defendant's bid for a quantity of sodium carbonate. Submitted on the appropriate government form, the bid was subject to a condition which gave the government " . . . the right to withdraw from sale any property prior to the removal thereof without incurring any liability except to refund to the purchaser any amount paid with respect to the said property." Although the sodium carbonate had not been withdrawn from sale, the defendant refused to perform his promise to buy it. The government brought an action for damages, and the defense was that no …


The Disputes Article In Government Contracts, Leslie L. Anderson Oct 1945

The Disputes Article In Government Contracts, Leslie L. Anderson

Michigan Law Review

An approach to the subject of government contracts requires some departure from the lawer's usual concept of a legal right. In this field, departures from generally accepted principles of contract law have developed in no small part from administrative practice, and the concept of a legal right cannot be thought of simply from the angle of enforceability in court. In transactions between private parties, the fact that the United States Supreme Court in Chase Securities Corporation v. Donaldson recently treated a legal right as being in essence merely dormant after the running 6f the statute of limitations against it would …


A Further Legal Inquiry Into Renegotiation: Ii, Charles W. Steadman Oct 1944

A Further Legal Inquiry Into Renegotiation: Ii, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

Several issues concerning constitutionality of the Renegotiation Act were discussed in a previous article. That prior inquiry was, of course, not complete, nor is it possible here to exhaust all of these problems. The changes which the Revenue Act of 1943 made in renegotiation together with the manifest importance of this subject and the national interest which has been created by the challenges made concerning its constitutionality warrant further inquiry into this phase of the act. The issues of delegation of legislative authority, impairment of contracts, due process and judicial review, as well as the nature of renegotiation as a …


Termination Of War Contracts: The Contract Settlement Act Of 1944, David A. Goldman Oct 1944

Termination Of War Contracts: The Contract Settlement Act Of 1944, David A. Goldman

Michigan Law Review

Enacted with a background of knowledge gained from the termination of more than 25,000 army and navy contracts having an uncompleted value of approximately $17,000,000,000, the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 was the first of the legislative enactments by which Congress seeks to control the possibility of a rising tide of economic difficulties which might otherwise drown the body politic in a flood of cancellation notices. The passage of the act was preceded by extensive public hearings and debates, during which responsible Government officials and leaders of labor and industry expressed their considered opinions. Congress likewise had the benefit of …


A Further Legal Inquiry Into Renegotiation: I, Charles W. Steadman Aug 1944

A Further Legal Inquiry Into Renegotiation: I, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

Renegotiation has undergone some important changes which call for consideration. Congress .has undertaken to rewrite the Renegotiation Act. Administrative and procedural developments have created new problems. The act is being attacked as unconstitutional. Procedural technique and statutory interpretations have crystallized sufficiently to permit careful scrutiny. And the problems regarding the determination. of excessive profits, questions of taxation, amortization, cost allowances, as well as the constitutionality of the act, are a challenge to a continued study of this law and its administration.


Termination Of War Department Contracts At The Option Of The Government, David A. Goldman Apr 1944

Termination Of War Department Contracts At The Option Of The Government, David A. Goldman

Michigan Law Review

The United States of America has been mobilized and waging war for more than two years. Every device known to science, every resource of the country, every means of production, has been and is being employed to bring the conflict to a successful conclusion. Public funds, in amounts beyond comprehension, have been appropriated for the production of materiel. As of March r943, the War Department alone had outstanding more than 240,000 contracts in the face amount of approximately $75,000,000,000.


Taxation-Assessment Of Government-Owned Property Leased To Private Enterprise, Allen C. Holmes Apr 1944

Taxation-Assessment Of Government-Owned Property Leased To Private Enterprise, Allen C. Holmes

Michigan Law Review

The Board of Property Assessment, Appeals, and Review of Allegheny County for ad valorem taxes in the state of Pennsylvania increased the assessed value of the realty of the Mesta Machine Company by the sum of $618,000 to include the value of certain additional machinery which had been installed on the premises. The machinery was leased by the United States Government to the company and was placed in the factory in order that the company might manufacture heavy field guns for the Government, under a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The legal title and the beneficial ownership of the machinery remained in the …


Legal Aspects Of Renegotiation, Charles W. Steadman Feb 1944

Legal Aspects Of Renegotiation, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

The Renegotiation Act which became effective April 28, 1942, was designed to eliminate and remove exorbitant profits from war contracts. No other recent statute has been the subject of so much controversy and misunderstanding. Since the beginning of renegotiation of contracts in the late summer and early fall of 1942, policies have been crystalizing and many interpretations of the act have been made, but many more questions as to its meaning must still be answered.


Renegotiation Of War Contracts, Charles W. Steadman Aug 1943

Renegotiation Of War Contracts, Charles W. Steadman

Michigan Law Review

The limitation of war profits to fair and reasonable levels and the purchase of war goods at fair prices are essential to the successful prosecution of the war. These problems come as a part of war and must be solved just as surely as tactical problems in battle. Exorbitant profits and prices spell defeat to any nation, for they point the way to inflation and economic collapse. In modern war the difference between defeat and victory lies ultimately in the economic strength of the countries involved. The lessons of history have shown us that no nation can achieve and maintain …


Constitutional Law - Constitutionality Of State Sales Tax On Defense Materials Purchased Under A Cost-Plus-A-Fixed-Fee Contract With The Federal Government, Lloyd M. Forster Jan 1942

Constitutional Law - Constitutionality Of State Sales Tax On Defense Materials Purchased Under A Cost-Plus-A-Fixed-Fee Contract With The Federal Government, Lloyd M. Forster

Michigan Law Review

X had a cost-plus-a-fixed-fee contract with the federal government, under which the government reserved the right to pay directly for purchases made by X pursuant to contract to give prior authorization for each purchase over $500, to inspect and acquire title to materials delivered under such contract, and to furnish materials itself. X ordered lumber from plaintiff, who contested the constitutionality of an Alabama sales tax levied on this sale, contending that the tax was levied on a transaction by which the United States secured goods for governmental purposes. Held, the tax should be sustained, since X, and …


United States - Government Corporations - Immunity From Suit, John H. Uhl May 1939

United States - Government Corporations - Immunity From Suit, John H. Uhl

Michigan Law Review

The Emergency Relief and Construction Act, passed by Congress in 1932, authorized the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to create regional agricultural corporations, but did not expressly provide that such corporations might sue and be sued. However, Congress had made express provision to this effect with respect to the R. F. C. itself. The Regional Agricultural Credit Corporation of Sioux City, Iowa, was chartered by the R. F. C. in accordance with the statute. The plaintiff brought this action to recover damages for injuries to livestock alleged to have resulted from the negligence of the Regional Corporation in not providing proper care …


Taxation - Income Tax - Deductions - Ordinary And Necessary Business Expenses - Commissions Paid To Senator For Securing Public Contracts, Ralph E. Helper Apr 1939

Taxation - Income Tax - Deductions - Ordinary And Necessary Business Expenses - Commissions Paid To Senator For Securing Public Contracts, Ralph E. Helper

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer, a gravel company, employed as salesman a state senator, who obtained several contracts with the State Highway Commission of Louisiana. The Board, of Tax Appeals disallowed deductions for the commissions paid therefor, on the ground that the payments were for using personal influence with a governmental department, pursuant to a contract which is contrary to public policy. Held, in absence of evidence that the state senator agreed to or attempted to use any personal or political influence, the commissions paid to him are deductible business expenses. Alexandria Gravel Go., Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, (C. C. …


Municipal Corporations - Liability For Misrepresentation, Arthur A. Greene Jr. Mar 1939

Municipal Corporations - Liability For Misrepresentation, Arthur A. Greene Jr.

Michigan Law Review

The plaintiff contracted with the defendant to construct a sewer 8,553 feet in length. The specifications supplied by the county engineer indicated that the construction could be carried on under "free air conditions." In fact, the plaintiff was forced to use compressed air for 6,142 feet. The contract stipulated that the county would pay $30 additional per foot where the plaintiff found it more convenient to use compressed air, not to exceed 600 feet. The use of compressed air increased the cost of construction to the plaintiff to the extent of $497,521.25. Held, that the county was liable for …


Contracts With The United States, Grover C. Grismore Jun 1924

Contracts With The United States, Grover C. Grismore

Michigan Law Review

It has been settled since a comparatively early day in the history of our government that "the United States being a body politic, may, within the sphere of the constitutional powers confided to it, and through the instrumentality of the proper department to which those powers are confided, enter into contracts not prohibited by law, and appropriate to the just exercise of those powers." While this proposition became established without much of a struggle, it has not been so freely admitted that such contracts are to be given the same construction and effect as the contracts of individuals. In Smoot's …