The Court of Federal Claims likely has jurisdiction over lawsuits about National Institutes of grant terminations, but researchers can’t directly challenge these terminations. Instead, universities must sue on their behalf as the legal parties to the grants, and it’s unclear how a research grant-related case would turn out in this court.
“This is – I think esoteric is probably an understatement,” Bracewell’s Bob Wagman, president of the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association, told Inside Higher Ed.
As far as Wagman knows, the court has yet to say what level of monetary damages plaintiffs could win from the court over research grant terminations. He said that’s just one of a number of “threshold” issues judges will have to decide on regarding how these cases will work.
“It’s just been sort of an avalanche and people are trying to figure out what makes the most sense,” Wagman said.
