Can I Appear Pro Se in Government Contracts Litigation? Rather than hiring a government contracts attorney, some company owners attempt to file their own dispute against the federal government. This is called appearing pro se – choosing to advocate on your own behalf than being represented by a lawyer. Choosing to appear… Read more »
Understand GAO’s Analysis in a Government Protest and Getting Agency Corrective Action Cost An issue arises in a government contract protest where the agency elects to take corrective action, and when, if ever, can a protestor recover costs when the agency takes too long to take corrective action. Many contractors… 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 »
Learn how to avoid costly mistakes when challenging the government’s source selection decision in a protest based on best value versus lowest price evaluation criteria. Sometimes government contractors may fall short of winning arguments in a source selection decision protest challenging DOD source selection decisions and ultimate contract award decision…. 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 »
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 »
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 »
Given the increase in government contract and procurement fraud activity, in 2006, the National contract government procurement Fraud Task Force was formed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention, and prosecution of procurement contract fraud. Government contractors are more exposed to investigations and are finding themselves facing more criminal charges and jail… Read more »
To get a government contract claim excused from performance due to defense to breach of contract of impossibility or commercial impracticability, you must inform the contracting officer early in the process. You cannot wait until the case is at the appeals level to bring it up. Failure to follow this simple… Read more »
Government procurement fraud litigation has escalated over the past few years due to increased government oversight. A particular target of federal procurement law is the federal False Claims Act. 28 USC 2514. To prevail under section 2514, the government must “establish by clear and convincing evidence that the contractor knew that… Read more »