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John Nakoneczny is an associate in the Government Contracts Group in Crowell & Moring’s Washington, D.C. office.

John represents and counsels contractors from diverse industries on contract disputes and other government contract matters. Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, he clerked at the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, where he supported its judges in resolving and mediating appeals under the Contract Disputes Act. John earned his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, where he was the president of the Government Contracts Student Association and on the Federal Circuit Bar Journal. While in law school, John served as a legal intern at the U.S. General Services Administration and the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division. Upon graduation, John was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award.

On November 1, 2022, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) published its FY 2022 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 Agency

In Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, ASBCA No. 62209, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“Board”) denied the Air Force’s motion for summary judgment, which had argued that the “measured mile” approach to calculating disruption was legally untenable.  In its decision, the Board noted that it has “accepted the measured mile approach as an

On January 21, 2022, the District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued an Order in Georgia v. Biden, No. 2:21-cv-163 (S.D. Ga. Jan. 21, 2022), which responded, in part, to the Government’s requests for clarification regarding the scope of the court’s nationwide injunction of the federal contractor vaccine mandate promulgated under Executive

Following President Biden’s announcement of Executive Order 14042 (“EO”) on September 9, 2021, several agencies have issued guidance on the EO’s applicability to the contractor community, which we reported on here.  Further to GSA’s September 30, 2021 Class Deviation CD-2021-13, on October 6, 2021, GSA reiterated that a mass modification program for all

In Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, ASBCA No. 62209 (a C&M case), the Board granted Lockheed Martin’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of whether the Government can assert laches as an affirmative defense to a Contract Disputes Act claim. In a case of first impression, Lockheed Martin argued that the affirmative defense of

The Federal Circuit recently affirmed the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals’ (CBCA) decision denying a pandemic-related claim in Pernix Serka Joint Venture v. Secretary of State, CBCA No. 5683, 20-1 BCA ¶ 37,589.  Pernix involved a firm-fixed-price construction contract in Sierra Leone that was impacted by an Ebola outbreak several months into the project.  The Department of State (DOS) declined to provide direction or to issue a suspension of work order, and instead advised Pernix to make its own business decisions regarding performance and employee safety.  Pernix chose to demobilize its workforce and, later, to remobilize with the addition of its own on-site medical facility and services.  Pernix then submitted a claim for the increased medical, safety, and demobilization and remobilization costs.  DOS granted an adjustment to the schedule for the Ebola-related delays under the contract’s excusable delay clause, but denied Pernix’s monetary claim.
Continue Reading Federal Circuit Affirms Board Decision on Pandemic-Related Claim

In URS Federal Services, Inc., ASBCA No. 62475 (March 23, 2021), the Board dismissed a contractor’s three-count complaint for lack of jurisdiction on one count and for failure to state a claim on the other two.  The Board first addressed Count III, which alleged that the Government had breached the implied duty of

In BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, Inc., ASBCA No. 62416 (February 10, 2021), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals addressed whether an request for equitable adjustment (REA) constituted a Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claim. BAE submitted a series of REAs that it consistently labeled and characterized as such and certified in accordance with

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