On December 9, 2014, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (“CBCA”) ruled in favor of contractor Kiewit-Turner, after a finding of material breach of contract on the part of the government, allowing Kiewit-Turner to stop work on a VA Hospital being constructed in Aurora, Colorado, which was supposed to be completed in May… Read more »
Bid protest filed at the Court of Federal Claims is considered a new protest and not a direct appeal of the Government Accountability Office’s protest decision. When considering a contractors’ decision to file a Bid Protest at COFC or GAO, there are times when a contractor’s risk of forfeiting revenues… Read more »
Government procurement fraud can arise in a variety of situations. A common example occurs during the bidding phase when offerors submit untruthful information in efforts to secure a government contract, or in other situations, to get admitted into a program administered by the Small Business Administration. In the case of… 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 By Theodore P. Watson, Esq. and Cheryl E. Adams, Esq. Prime’s Management of the Project is Critical When your company bids on a federal government contract as a small business, prime contractor management of the project under the ostensible agreement is essential… 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 »