Filing a Government Contract Claim Appeal

After filing a contract claim against the government, you finally receive the bad news from the Agency – a denial of claims.  17% of government contract claims will be denied. In addition, 33.2 % of appeals to the Board shall be dismissed or denied either for lack of jurisdiction or hearing the case on its merits.

• Within what may seem to be small percentages, companies lose millions is denied contract claims against the government for one or more  of the above reasons.
• If you are like most contractors, you simply cannot afford to file a contract claim against the government and then lose out for what most would call a ‘technicality.‘

Initiation of the Claim

Virtually also claims Against the federal government must be submitted in writing to the contracting officer.  There should be no question as to what the document is and what you are asking for.

• The claims process is very narrowly interpreted by the courts.
• Companies should not take this process lightly.

At a minimum you must give a specific amount of damages your seek, certify the claim if over $100,000.00. The contract claims that do get paid, however, go a little further. They include clear language and explanations to show why the government should pay the claim. This includes showing the differences in the original contract and the claim submitted.

Emailing Government Contract Claims Notice of Appeal Can be Dangerous

Problems can occur when a company sends its notice of appeal a contract claim via email. Oftentimes, the government may try to file a motion to dismiss if can argue that the email does not meet the statutory contract claims appeal and agency notification requirement.

• Government contractors should consider using a more formal method of notifying the agency.
• Having a fax certification notice of sending the appeal notice could be more persuasive to the Board of Contract Appeals.

The email notification was a critical issue in the case of USAC Aerospace Group, Inc. dba USAC Aerospace Group: Aerostructures, ASBCA Nos. 59114 et al. (Dec. 4, 2014)

In that case the Board had some reservation as to the date of emailing the 90-day notification to DLA. Filing a government contract claim. has very precise rules that contractors must follow. From the claims preparation stage all the way through filing an appeal of the contract claim is heavily regulated. As in the case of USAC Aerospace Group, having a contract claims and disputes lawyer is essential to protecting the contractor’s rights.

• Millions of dollars can be lost when one mistake is made.
• The Board of Contract Appeals cannot waive the Contract Disputes Act requirements or any other mandate under the statute.

Statute of Limitations for Appealing Contract Claims Against the Government

At the end of the day there can be no debate that when the contracting officer denies a contract claim, government contractors must follow certain statutory requirements before appealing to the Board of Contract  Appeals. Under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), 41 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7109, there is a 90-day filing requirement for filing an appeal with an agency board of contract appeals. See 41 U.S. C. § 7104.

Companies sometimes find themselves in situations when calculating the statute of limitations for filing a contract claim against the government. Failing to meet this deadline can also have a grave impact to thousands or even millions of dollars of contractual claims. Read more information about filing a contract claim against the government.

Whether you are entitled to the amount for your contract claim can be irrelevant when the government contracting agency seeks a dismissal from the Board of your appeals for lack of jurisdiction. The Agency will argue that your contract claims are time barred pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act, 41 U.S.C. § 7103(a)(4). This section requires a contract claim to be “submitted within 6 years after the accrual of the claim.”

For help filing or appealing your contract claim against the government, call our  contract dispute lawyers at 1-866-601-5518.