In Fortis Industries, Inc., CBCA 7967 (Sept. 18, 2024), the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) denied in part the government’s motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of whether the contractor released its claims by signing a modification terminating the contract for convenience. During contract performance, the General Services Administration (GSA) imposed monthly deductions to contract payments as a response to certain performance issues. GSA later proposed to terminate the contract for convenience and sent a contract modification stating that all obligations under the contract were concluded except payment for work performed in June 2022. The contractor signed the modification but stated in its transmittal email that it was owed payment for services in May 2022 as well.
Continue Reading CBCA Denies the Government’s Motion for Summary Judgment Based on an Issue of Fact Regarding the Contractor’s Reservation of Rights via a Transmission Email
Steve McBrady
Steve McBrady is a partner and co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Government Contracts Group. He also serves as a member of the firm’s Finance and Strategic Growth Committees, where he has played a leading role in expanding client service offerings throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
In recent years, Steve has received the National Law Journal’s “Winning Litigator” award as a lawyer who has “tackled some of the most widely watched cases of the year,” as well as the “D.C. Trailblazer” award, recognizing lawyers who have “made significant marks on the practice.” In 2018, he was named “Government Contracts MVP” by Law360.
So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance:Contractor Recovers COVID-Related Quarantine Costs
In Chugach Federal Solutions, Inc., ASBCA Nos. 62712, et al., the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals held that a contractor could recover its costs for having to quarantine personnel in accordance with government-imposed COVID safety requirements, because the underlying contract contemplated that the contractor would be compensated for complying with any changes to health and safety requirements.
Continue Reading So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance:Contractor Recovers COVID-Related Quarantine CostsHurricanes Helene and Milton Put a Spotlight on Disaster Response Contracting Efforts
The federal government’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton will increase its reliance upon government contractor support to perform critical tasks in the coming months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal, state, and local agencies charged with disaster response and recovery will look to contractors to provide everything from logistics to housing, construction…
The Dockworkers’ Strike and Safeguarding Your Rights
At midnight on October 1, 2024, the International Longshoremen’s Association launched a labor strike that effectively shut down all ports from Maine to Texas after being unable to reach agreement on terms for a new labor contract with the United States Maritime Alliance. This strike may impact virtually all industries that rely on maritime shipping, either directly or indirectly.
Continue Reading The Dockworkers’ Strike and Safeguarding Your RightsAn Uplifting Tale: Crane Supplier Recovers Breach Damages Because Commercial-Item Contract Did Not Incorporate Stop-Work Clause
In Konecranes Nuclear Equip. Servs. LLC, ASBCA, Nos. 62797, 62827 (May 7, 2024), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (Board) awarded approximately $4.9 million in delay-related breach damages to Konecranes Nuclear Equipment Services (Konecranes) due to the Navy’s breach of its implied duty to not interfere on a commercial-item contract for the provision of 25-ton general purpose portal cranes.
Continue Reading An Uplifting Tale: Crane Supplier Recovers Breach Damages Because Commercial-Item Contract Did Not Incorporate Stop-Work ClauseFunny Money: Federal Circuit Gives Its Two Cents, Reverses Dismissal of Implied-In-Fact Contract Claim
In Portland Mint v. United States, Case No. 22-2154, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated the Portland Mint’s claim that the government breached an implied-in-fact contract to pay the Portland Mint for coins tendered under the government’s Mutilated Coin Redemption Program. The Court’s decision is a reminder of the jurisdictional importance in pleading a contract as implied-in-fact rather than implied-in-law.
Continue Reading Funny Money: Federal Circuit Gives Its Two Cents, Reverses Dismissal of Implied-In-Fact Contract ClaimBoard Sustains Lockheed Martin’s $131 Million Cumulative Impact Claim
In Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, ASBCA No. 62209 (a C&M case), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (Board) awarded $131,888,860 in damages plus applicable interest in connection with Lockheed Martin’s claim for the cumulative disruptive impacts it experienced in performing over and above work on the C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-Engining Program. The…
Civilian Board Denies Department of Energy Motion to Dismiss
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…
You Need to Calm Down: Board Swift-ly Denies Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Prosecute Filed Just Days After Party Misses Deadline
In MLU Services, Inc. v. Department of Homeland Security, CBCA No. 8002, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (Board) denied a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute, which the agency filed just four days after MLU failed to timely submit one of its initial pleadings.
This case…
CBCA’s FY 2023 Report – Examining the Numbers
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…