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
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 Creative Management Services, LLC, dba MC-2 v. U.S. (Feb. 26, 2021), the Federal Circuit affirmed a Court of Federal Claims decision dismissing a contractor’s appeal of the government’s Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claim as untimely, holding that the contractor appealed more than 12 months after receiving a contracting officer’s (CO) final decision. On appeal, the contractor alleged that the final decision was not a valid claim because it did not state a “sum certain” as required by the CDA, and this deficiency meant that the 12-month appeal period had not started to run.
The contractor was awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) task order to provide marketing and logistical support for an annual GSA conference, and was required to keep the revenue it collected for the conference in a trust account. When GSA canceled the conference in the fourth year and asked the contractor to return all remaining money in the trust account, the contractor refused and submitted a termination for convenience proposal to GSA. GSA subsequently issued two letters to the contractor demanding an accounting of the trust account and all money that remained in it. The CO then issued a final decision on the contractor’s termination proposal and on GSA’s claim to the remaining funds in the trust account, without providing a dollar amount. The contractor filed suit three years after the final decision was issued, challenging the government’s claim to the trust account funds.Continue Reading Show Me the Money? When a Sum Approximate Counts as a Sum Certain
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 Globe Trailer Manufacturing, Inc., ASBCA No. 62594 (Jan. 28, 2021), the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the Board) addressed whether a contractor’s certified supplement to a termination settlement proposal (TSP) constitutes a claim under the Contract Disputes Act. After termination, the contractor submitted a TSP that included costs of constructive changes. During
On June 14, we presented a webinar titled “Frequently Asked Questions About Requests for Equitable Adjustment and Contract Disputes Act Claims.” The webinar featured some of the most common questions we encounter in the field regarding CDA claims and REAs, as well as a discussion of procedural, substantive, and business considerations that go into the
The Prompt Payment Act requires the government to pay an interest penalty when it fails to make a payment by the required payment date. But, for CDA statute of limitations purposes, when does that penalty claim accrue? This issue was addressed in the recent Public Warehousing Co. (May 2, 2016) decision, where the Board
In L-3 Commc’ns (Apr. 25, 2016), the ASBCA dismissed as moot the appeals of two final decisions that the contractor had argued were barred by the CDA statute of limitations when the cognizant ACOs rescinded the final decisions after the contractor had appealed. The board held that, although the COs had not yet
The past twelve months have seen major developments on cost and pricing issues relevant to the “top of the ledger” – as well as the bottom line. On May 26, 2016, at 11:00 am -12:00 pm, Crowell & Moring attorneys Terry Albertson, Steve McBrady, Rob Burton, and Skye Mathieson will highlight some of the most
In Appeals of LRV Environmental, Inc., the ASBCA considered the issue of whether or not the Government’s “reconsideration” of a contracting officer’s final decision acts to re-set the 90-day clock for jurisdictional purposes under the CDA. In LRV, the CO issued a final decision, and subsequently reconsidered a portion of that decision, leading