Just Trust Me On This: Allegation Of Contract's Existence Is Sufficient To Establish Jurisdiction Under Contract Disputes Act

• Published date: 12 March 2024
• Law Firm: Crowell & Moring LLP
• Author: Lorraine M. Campos, John E. McCarthy Jr., Jonathan M. Baker, Skye Mathieson, Charles Baek and John Nakoneczny

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in Avue Technologies Corp. v. Department of Health and Human Services that an appellant's non-frivolous allegation of a contract with the government via an end-user license agreement (EULA) incorporated into another contractor's Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) agreement was sufficient to establish jurisdiction under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA).

The Federal Circuit addressed a situation in which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) purchased a software license from an authorized reseller of Avue's products through a task order issued...