Government contracting agencies’ Source Selection Board decisions often come under fire in bid protest when there is a large and complex acquisition. The evaluation board helps the contracting officer to develop the source selection plan. The plan is supposed to evaluate bidders against the proposal evaluation criteria. However, government contracting agencies… Read more »
Was the Government Procurement Process for Your Bid Properly Applied? What are Your Options? Theodore P Watson, Esq. Federal government agencies tend to use the best value contracting procurement process as the preferred proposal evaluation criteria. The idea is to use taxpayer dollars to buy the best quality and value of… Read more »
Partial breach of contract occurs in many government contracts involving disposition of nuclear waste, particularly spent nuclear fuel. Spent nuclear fuel (“SNF”) is “nuclear reactor fuel that has been used to the extent that it can no longer effectively sustain a chain reaction.” These contracts involve the utility contractor purchasing… Read more »
The government has a federal common law right of set off costs, also referred to as offset, to balance mutual debts and it can be used as a defense against a contractor to better reconcile competing claims. It is important to understand, as a contractor, when the government may be able… Read more »
A board of contract appeal has the authority to impose sanctions, including government sanctions, on parties for unacceptable behavior. While boards do not have the authority to impose monetary sanctions, federal courts, such as the Court of Federal Claims, can. When a board imposes either contractor or government sanctions, the sanction… Read more »
Contractors can claim mistake of fact in bid claims against the federal government. When arguing that there was a mistake in bid, a contractor can either raise a mutual mistake of fact (both contractor and government made a mistake in drafting the agreement) or unilateral mistake of fact (contractor mistake)… Read more »
Ostensible Subcontractor Rule: Primary and Vital Contract Requirements – Don’t Get Your Contract Taken Away – Get Immediate Help – SBA Size Protests Have 5-day deadline. Act Right Away. By Theodore P. Watson, Esq. and Cheryl E. Adams, Esq. Prime’s Management of the Project is Critical When your company bids… Read more »
Government contracting agencies will often have you sign a release of all claims under the contract. Contractors must be careful in understanding what exactly signing a waiver of claims means. Avoid Costly legal mistakes when signing government contract changes that contain release of claims clauses. When bringing a contract claim… Read more »
Contractors often have questions on the types of claims available to them. One claim contractors can assert when trying to recover government breach of contract damages is a superior knowledge claim. The superior knowledge doctrine is based on the idea that where the government had knowledge of information that would affect… Read more »
On February 12, 2014, President Obama signed Executive Order 13658 to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 per hour for all workers on federal constructive and service contracts, up from the current $7.25 per hour minimum. The final rule was issued to the Federal Register on October… Read more »