Theodore P. Watson, Government Contracts Attorney. Termination for default cases on appeal often fails. The general reason for such a failure rate is because of your response to a show cause letter in government contracting. Another reason is that your response to FAR cure notice or some version of a letter… Read more »
Although government contracting can be a lucrative business venture, contract dispute claims resolution with the government can sometimes be daunting and stressful. Oftentimes, businesses believe that they are doing ‘the right thing’ when the Contracting Office Representative orders them to perform extra work. Businesses may also believe that agencies will… Read more »
In government construction contracting, a general contractor often litigates contract disputes about construction scope of work changes but often finds out after thousands in litigation costs, that it has either failed to follow FAR procedure or took a substandard technical approach to get paid. For large federal projects, the risk of… Read more »
When an agency decides that your proposal does not show relevant past performance, the general rule under DOD Source Selection procedures is that you should not be rated either favorably or unfavorably. In other words, agencies should give bidders neutral ratings. Where a federal agency excludes and offeror from the… Read more »
There is a lot of confusion among small businesses when applying Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business SDVOSB sole source and VA Rule of Two Small Business rules versus SDVOSB set aside requirements. As a result, there are many unsuccessful bid protests filed on this matter. SVOSB Sole Source Contracts & Threshold Generally, an agency contracting… Read more »
Under the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) “fixed-price government contracts with an economic price adjustment clause provides for upward and downward revisions of the stated contract price upon the occurrence of specified contingencies.” This is covered in FAR Part 16.203-1(a). To establish a case or bid protest challenging the agency’s improper use of… Read more »
When filing claims against the government, under the theory of equitable subrogation, there are some tricky rules of law in place. For example, in a recent Court of Federal Claims case, Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, et al. v. United States, No. 14-84 C (Nov. 19, 2014), the court ruled that under… Read more »
Whether contemplating filing a government protest, or intervening into a bid protest that is already filed, CEOs must make a quick decision. Protest deadlines are very short, and there is not much time to think. Regardless of the decision, CEO’s must always make sure to get a debriefing – even… Read more »
For each bid protest filed, the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) requires the contracting officer to “immediately direct the contractor to cease performance under the contract and to suspend any related activities that may result in more obligations being incurred by the United States under that contract.” See 31 USC… Read more »
Small businesses continue to use joint ventures as a strategic alliance to get larger government contracts. There are various advantages and disadvantages of forming venture relationships. There are also specific rules that govern these alliances. Yet small businesses continue to lose larger contracts due to increasing amounts of small business size… Read more »