This special edition of the Fastest 5 Minutes podcast covers new rules issued last week by the Department of Defense that implement various requirements of recent National Defense Authorization Acts, including a new rule that imposes additional requirements for contractors to provide cost or pricing data to the government, and is hosted by Peter Eyre

Erin Rankin
Erin Rankin is counsel in the Government Contracts Group and is experienced in resolving government contract disputes with a particular focus on cost allowability, cost accounting issues, and DCAA audit findings. Erin also advises clients on all aspects of FAR and DFARS compliance in connection with the administration, performance, and closing out of government contracts. Erin has extensive experience representing government contractors before the Boards of Contract Appeals, defending companies against False Claims Act allegations, conducting internal investigations, and advocating for clients in mandatory disclosures and suspension and debarment proceedings.
Contractors Take Note: DoD Issues Two Final Contract Cost and Pricing Rules
On October 28, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) amended the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) by issuing two final rules related to contract cost and pricing. Specifically:
- Requiring Data Other Than Certified Cost or Pricing Data – DoD issued a final rule to implement a section of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National
Too Late: Government’s Failure to Timely Audit Did Not Extend the Contractor’s Document Retention Obligations
In Doubleshot, Inc., ASBCA No. 61691 (July 19, 2022), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) granted the contractor’s motion for partial summary judgment, denying the Government’s claim for unallowable costs to the extent that it was based on missing or unsigned employee time cards. The ASBCA held that the contractor was not required to maintain time card records to support the allowability of labor charges beyond the retention period specified in the contractor’s cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts (including applicable time extensions).
The contracts incorporated both the Audit and Records – Negotiation clause (FAR 52.215-2) and the Allowable Cost and Payment clause (FAR 52.216-7), which grant the Government the right to examine the contractor’s records reflecting all claimed costs and reduce payments for amounts that are unallowable. Following the contractor’s delayed submission of two final indirect cost rate proposals, the Defense Contract Audit Agency (“DCAA”) did not begin auditing the proposals until eight months after the contractual obligation to maintain records had expired. DCAA then questioned the contractor’s labor costs for which there was no time card support, even though the contractor was able to demonstrate that it paid its employees. The Government’s claim and the contractor’s appeal followed. …
When is the Price of a Fixed-Price Contract Not Fixed?
In Tolliver Group, Inc. v. United States (Aug. 17, 2022), the Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) granted the contractor’s request for summary judgment, awarding $195,890 in legal fees the contractor incurred to successfully defend against a False Claims Act suit brought by a whistleblower. The court held that the cost principles in Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Subpart 31.2 applied to the contractor’s fixed-price task order, and the contractor’s legal fees were allowable and payable under the contract. This is the second time that the COFC addressed the contractor’s entitlement to legal fees, having previously held that the contractor could recover a portion of them under the Spearin doctrine (which we reported on here). The Federal Circuit later vacated that award on jurisdictional grounds (reported on here) and remanded the case to the COFC.
Continue Reading When is the Price of a Fixed-Price Contract Not Fixed?
Just the (Same) Facts, Ma’am: ASBCA has Jurisdiction to Hear Contractor’s Different Theories of Recovery Based on the Same Set of Operative Facts
In ECC Int’l, LLC, ASBCA No. 60167 (Jan. 25, 2022), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“Board”) held that it had jurisdiction to hear a contractor’s alternate theories of recovery that arose from the same operative facts and sought the same relief requested in its claim. The contractor initially filed a certified claim for…
To Be, or Not to Be: The ASBCA Holds that a Cost is Not “Incurred” Without a Legal Obligation to Pay
In its recent decision, Cellular Materials International, Inc., ASBCA No. 61408 (Dec. 27, 2021), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) observed that whether a cost has been “incurred” for purposes of claiming allowable costs under FAR 52.216-7 is a fact-intensive inquiry.
Pursuant to its Government contract requirements, Cellular Materials International, Inc. (“CMI”)…
Federal Circuit Vacates COFC Decision Entitling Contractor to Damages for Breach of Implied Warranty Because the Contractor Did Not Present the Claim to the CO
In Tolliver Group, Inc. v. United States, No. 2020-2341, 2021 WL 5872256 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 13, 2021), the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the Court of Federal Claims’ (“COFC”) decision holding that the contractor was entitled to an equitable adjustment for damages caused by the Government’s breach of the implied warranty that satisfactory contract…
The ASBCA Rejects the Navy’s Attempt to Use a Default Termination as a Sword and Shield
n Ultra Electronic Ocean Systems, Inc., ASBCA No. 62804 (June 17, 2021), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) held that a contracting officer’s letter terminating the contract for default “effective immediately” constituted a Contracting Officer’s Final Decision for the purpose of granting the Board jurisdiction over the contractor’s appeal.
In Ultra…
You Snooze, You Lose: Contractor’s Compensation Costs are Not Expressly Unallowable When the Government Delayed in Setting Annual Cap
In Ology Bioservices, Inc., ASBCA No. 62633 (May 20, 2021), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the Board) held that the Government could not assess a penalty on the contractor’s fiscal year (FY) 2013 compensation costs for being expressly unallowable when the Government delayed publishing the compensation cap for FY 2013 by more…