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Eric Herendeen is a counsel in the Government Contracts Group in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office. He advises clients on a wide array of performance dispute issues, including requests for equitable adjustments, CDA claims, cost allowability issues, and prime–sub disputes. He has represented clients before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In addition to his disputes and litigation practice, Eric has also counseled clients through internal investigations to support disclosures to the government and to advocate before the Department of Justice on False Claims Act matters.

After graduating law school, Eric clerked at the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, where he worked with the judges drafting opinions and mediating cases concerning appeals of CDA claims.

In its recently published FY 2025 Annual Report (Report), the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) provided detailed statistics about appeals involving disputes between contractors and civilian agencies.  This past year, the civilian agencies with the highest number of docketed claims at the Board were the Department of Veterans Affairs (70 appeals), the United States Agency for International Development (43 appeals), the General Services Administration (36 appeals), the Department of State (12 appeals ), and the Department of Education (12 appeals).  These agencies accounted for 173, or approximately 78%, of the 221 Contract Disputes Act (CDA) appeals docketed at the Board. Continue Reading CBCA’s FY 2025 Report – Examining the Numbers

Every year since 1979, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) has issued a Report of Transactions and Proceedings (Report), which provides helpful statistics for contractors and practitioners regarding the ASBCA’s docket and success rates for contractor litigation and ADR.  The ASBCA published its FY 2025 Report on October 30, 2025. Continue Reading ASBCA’s FY 2025 Report – A Look at the Numbers

Earlier this year, we highlighted a notable Court of Federal Claims (CFC) decision recognizing that an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) contractor may be able to recover proposal preparation costs under the CFC’s bid protest jurisdiction. Now, in Siemens Government Technologies, Inc. v. United States, another CFC decision has reaches a similar conclusion and goes even further — also highlighting the potential to recover under the Court’s Contract Disputes Act (CDA) jurisdiction.  Continue Reading Court of Federal Claims Recognizes Additional Potential Recovery Opportunities under Energy Savings Performance Contracts

A recent Court of Federal Claims decision addressed a novel fact pattern involving a bid protest (seeking bid preparation costs) relating to an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) and has the potential to expand contractor recovery opportunities in both areas of law.Continue Reading Court of Federal Claims Decision Offers Potential Recovery Opportunity for Energy Savings Performance Contracts and Task Order Bid Protests

In a big change for defense contractors, Congress has amended 10 U.S.C. § 3372 to make clear that a Department of Defense (DoD) contracting officer’s unilateral definitization of an undefinitized contract action is directly appealable to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) or the Court of Federal Claims. Congress’s change (made under Section 803 of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025) (we report on the FY 2025 NDAA here) is contrary to recent ASBCA and Federal Circuit decisions.Continue Reading Congress Has Spoken: DoD Unilateral Definitizations are Appealable Government Claims

The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA or Board) recently published its Annual Report for FY 2024, providing statistics regarding the adjudication of appeals between contractors and civilian agencies. This year, the civilian agencies with the highest number of docketed claims at the Board were the Department of Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Agriculture. These agencies accounted for 126, or 76%, of the 165 Contract Disputes Act (CDA) appeals docketed at the Board. Continue Reading CBCA’s FY 2024 Report – Examining the Numbers

On December 17, 2024, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (Board) announced its plan to launch a new Electronic Docketing System (EDS).  Once implemented, the Board will require use of the new EDS for most submissions. 

For individuals already registered with the Government Accountability Office’s Electronic Protest Docketing System (EPDS), the EDS interface

In the Crowell & Moring case Parsons Government Services, Inc. v. Department of Energy, CBCA 7822, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (Board) denied the government’s motion to dismiss concerning Parsons’ claim for additional incentive fee in connection with its performance operating a salt waste processing facility at DOE’s Savannah River Site.  The underlying

The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) recently published its Annual Report for FY 2023, providing statistics regarding the adjudication of appeals between contractors and civilian agencies such as the Department of State, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the General Services Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior

On November 1, 2023, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) published its FY 2023 Report of Transactions and Proceedings, which provides statistics regarding the adjudication of appeals between contractors and the Army, Navy, Air Force, Corps of Engineers, Central Intelligence Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Contract Management