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Charles Baek is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office, where he practices in the Government Contracts Group.

Charles represents government contractors in both litigation and counseling matters. His practice focuses on contract claims/disputes under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), litigation before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), federal regulatory and ethics compliance and due diligence, bid protests before the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and False Claims Act (FCA) investigations. His practice also includes state contracting due diligence and litigation before the Court of Federal Claims.

On December 11, 2020, Congress presented to President Trump H.R. 6395, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. On December 23, 2020, President Trump vetoed the bill. Subsequently, the House voted on December 28, 2020 and the Senate voted on January 1, 2021 to override the veto.

This Act contains numerous provisions that

In BGT Holdings, Inv. v. United States, No. 1:18-cv-00178-PEC (Fed. Cir. Dec. 23, 2020), the Federal Circuit held that FAR 52.245-1 requires the Government to consider an equitable adjustment when it fails to provide Government-furnished equipment (GFE) required by the contract.  The contract in question required the Government to furnish equipment for the construction

On Sunday, President Trump signed a combined COVID-Relief and Omnibus Spending Bill, The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which funds the Federal Government for FY 2021 and includes a variety of COVID-19-related relief measures.  Among those measures, Section 1002 of the Act extends the reimbursement period for Section 3610 of the CARES Act, which

On December 9, 2020, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) released its Audit of Department of Defense Implementation of Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.  The audit assesses the DoD’s issuance of relief under Section 3610, which authorizes certain agencies to reimburse contractors for any

In JKB Solutions and Servs., LLC, the Court of Federal Claims denied the contractor’s breach claim and held that the Government constructively terminated the contract for convenience. At issue was an Army contract to provide instructors for the Army’s Operation Contract Support program. The contract required JKB to perform 14 classes per task order,

The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals published its FY2020 Report of Transactions and Proceedings, which provides statistics regarding the adjudication of appeals between contractors and the Army, Navy, Air Force, Corps of Engineers, CIA, NASA, DLA, DCMA, and other Defense agencies, Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentalities, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. According to

On September 30, the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment issued a memorandum titled “Delegation of Defective Pricing Authority to the Defense Contract Management Agency,” describing DCMA’s new, enhanced role in TINA audits and subsequent disputes. The memo states that DCMA has created a “Defective Pricing Pilot Team,” which

Agencies continue to release and refine Section 3610 billing guidelines. There continue to be substantive differences between agencies, creating compliance challenges for contractors. Crowell & Moring continues to track the latest Section 3610 billing guidance. Click here to view the updated table, current as of May 1, 2020.

On April 27, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Maine Cmty. Health Options et al v. United States, ruling in favor of Maine and companion insurers in the long running Affordable Care Act §1342 “risk corridors” litigation, and confirming the government’s obligation to pay insurers approximately $13 billion for their work related

On April 8, 2020, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Acting Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting (DPC) issued Class Deviation 2020-O0013, effective immediately, establishing a new DFARS cost principle entitled DFARS 231.205-79, “CARES Act Section 3610 – Implementation,” which sets forth rules regarding applicability, allowability, and avoiding duplicate payments under Section