Avoid Costly Legal Mistakes With Miller Act Pay When Paid Clause In Your Independent Contractor Agreement Government construction contractors can quickly find themselves in a dispute when applying the Miller Act pay if paid clause. This tool is often used to shield prime contractors from paying their subs when the agency… 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 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 »
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 »
Breach of Duty Good Faith and Fair Dealings Standard In a recent decision, Metcalf Construction Company v. United States, the Federal Circuit appeared to relax the standard needed to find a breach of the expressed covenants of good faith and fair dealing with government contracts. Government contractors seeking to litigate… Read more »
Government construction claims resolution and appeals in federal government contracts have become a nightmare for construction contractors that are filing disputes and appeals or initially submitting claims to the federal government. This is even true for settlement proposals in termination for convenience cases. The COFC or Board of Contract Appeals dismisses… Read more »
A common problem under the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (CDA) when the subcontractor engages in a subcontract with the General Contractor seeking pass through rights in the event of a claim against the federal government. Understanding the various levels of disputes is critical to how subcontractors should proceed. Subcontractor… Read more »
Oftentimes, a government contracts construction claims appeal is dismissed on appeal for lack of jurisdiction by the court. This can cost you a substantial amount of litigation fees only to find out that your case is dismissed on a technicality. To avoid such a peril, your must understand the basics when it… Read more »
When submitting federal government construction claims or appeals, the result usually lies in your justification for the claim, whether you met the Contract Disputes Act requirements and whether there was actually a contracting officer’s final decision. In addition, when submitting a differing site condition for a construction claim, the Federal Claims Court… Read more »