On August 17, 2010, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sidestepped a ruling on the propriety of pay-to-play bidding on public contracts, ruling that a defendant being sued by Pennsylvania lacked standing to argue that the State’s attorneys should be disqualified. The defendant had argued that the terms of the contract under which Pennsylvania hired a plaintiffs’ law firm violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. The law firm was hired on a contingency fee basis in an effort to recover an alleged overpayment of funds to a drug company. The decision to dismiss the defendant’s claims on standing grounds was a setback for WLF, which filed a brief urging the court to disqualify the law firm. WLF charged that the law firm was awarded the right to represent Pennsylvania without public bidding and after its principal attorney made huge donations to the Governor’s reelection campaign. WLF charged that the law firm in effect purchased the right to represent Pennsylvania in this case.