Stan Hinton

Home
Contact Me
 
Current Blog
2023 Blog
Courts
GAO
Boards
SBA
Statutes
Regulations
Directives
Agency Sites
More Agencies
Periodicals
Research
 

Recent Court of Federal Claims Contract Disputes Decisions (2014-Present)



See also Court of Federal Claims Contract Disputes Decisions (2006-2013) and  Recent Winstar Decisions

Click on any case name below to link directly to the decision

 

Contract Disputes Act; Tucker Act; Jurisdiction; Standing; Ripeness; Collateral Estoppel; Issue Preclusion; Statute of Limitations

MLB Transportation, Inc. v. United States, No. 20-711 (Mar. 25, 2024) (denies Government's motion for summary judgment that contract is void ab initio due to contractor's allegedly false representation as SDVOSB because factual issues remain concerning that allegation; contractor's claims based on allegedly faulty trip volume estimates is time barred because they accrued more than six years before they were submitted, and letter contractor relies on to avoid this result was not sufficient to constitute a claim; contract was patently ambiguous as to whether it was a requirements contract, and contractor, by failing to timely inquire, lost its ability to make a claim for breach of requirements contract; material issues of fact preclude summary judgment on contractor's changes claim)

Wolf Creek Railroad, LLC v. United States, No. 23-1684 (Mar,. 26, 2024) (dismisses suit; contractor failed to prove that it had submitted a certified claim letter for a decision or that such a letter had been received; where government contract specifically stated Government was not a party to tenant use agreements (TUA) that might be executed under a BOA, party to TUA was not in privity with Government even though Government had specifically authorized a TUA with it)

PGB Hanger, LLC v. United States, No. 22-1407 (Mar. 26, 2024) (dismisses suit filed as a Fifth Amendment takings claim because it is actually a contract dispute)

Thomas Creek Lumber and Log Co. v. United States, No. 23-40 (Feb. 7, 2024) (claim for breach of timber-sale contract; rejects Government's contention that claim was not previously presented to Contracting Officer because his decision, itself, signaled his awareness of amount and basis of the claim; dismisses two counts of Complaint based on contract interpretation because Forest Service clearly terminated contract based on a provision different from the one on which plaintiff's claim relied; dismisses another count because plaintiff failed to cite any contract provision that the Government had allegedly violated; refuses to dismiss count alleging Government had  failed to follow required rate redetermination provisions because there were disputed issues of fact that would require further development)

GoodEarth Distribution, LLC v. United States, No. 23-339 (Jan. 23, 2024) (refuses to dismiss contractor's claim for breach of contract due to nonpayment because fact that Government remitted payment to fraudster account did not alleviate it from its duty to pay the contractor; contractor did not allege facts that would support contention that Government's actions in investigating possible source of fraud (including GoodEarth) or denying its CDA claim breached duty of good faith and fair dealing to the contractor; no jurisdiction over contractor's claim for declaratory judgment that Government's actions amount to de facto debarment because judgment is not sought in a bid protest or as "incident of and collateral to" a monetary judgment)

J. Star Enterprises, Inc. v. United States, No. 23-013 (Sep. 11, 2023) (dismisses suit because (a) contractor did not file claim for remission of liquidated damages until more than six years after Government had assessed them, and (b) contractor also did not file suit within one year of date Government assessed liquidated damages, if that were considered the Government's claim)

ECC  CENTCOM Constructors, LLC v. United States, No. 21-1169 (Aug. 29, 2023) (doctrine of claim preclusion entitles Government to summary judgment as to claims that were previously decided by the ASBCA (and affirmed by the CAFC) and claims that could have presented to a Contracting Officer and decided at the Board along with the claims previously decided there)

The CENTECH GROUP, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-1752 (Aug. 8, 2023) (denies Government's motion to dismiss because alleged damages are fairly traceable to alleged breaches by the Government and are not too remote to lack causal connection)

Groundbreaker Development Corp. v. United States, No. 22-578 C (June 15, 2023) (no jurisdiction over contractor's monetary claim arising out of default termination because it had not been previously presented to Contracting Officer for decision)

CanPro Investments, Ltd. v. United States, No. 16-268 C (May 4, 2023) (decisions on motions for summary judgment reissued on reconsideration; lessor lacks standing to complain of alleged injuries caused by individual visitors to leased (SSA) offices but has standing to complain of the unexpected volume of visitors (some whose attendance was compelled by the Government) that allegedly violated the limits in the lease; no jurisdiction over appeal of claim for economic damages because claim originally presented to Contracting Officer did not have sufficient information for the amount being claimed to be determined; dismisses elements of claims for damages for which lessor does not provide evidence of causation; lessor has adequately pled claim based on superior knowledge)

H&M Assocs., LLC v. United States, No. 22-110 C (Mar. 31, 2023) (following default termination, court lacks jurisdiction over (a) claim for breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing (b) claims for prior material breach, the CO’s abuse of discretion and commercial impossibility/impracticability raised as defenses to the default termination that effectively request a change in the contract—whether that be an extension of time, a contractual modification, or an equitable adjustment because no such claims were first presented to Contracting Officer; court lacks jurisdiction to grant declaratory relief in contract case; court has jurisdiction over prior material breach and abuse of discretion issues to the extent they do not seek money damages but are purely affirmative defenses  

Aries Constr. Corp. v. United States, No. 22-166 C (Feb. 21, 2023) (court has jurisdiction over claim for breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing based on the Contracting Officer's denial of a constructive change claim[!?])

CanPro Investments, Ltd. v. United States, No. 16-268 C (Feb. 8, 2023) (refuses to strike amended Complaint filed without leave of court because there is no showing of prejudice to defendant; no standing to complain of behavior of third party visitors to SSA office because these are not acts of the Government; standing to complain of sheer volume of visitors because 'normal and customary use of leased building did not contemplate limitless number of visitors, especially where Government required in person attendance by some of them; dismisses claims for economic damages because adequate claims were not previously presented to Contracting Officer for decision; contractor cannot use court's discovery process to remedy deficiencies in its original presentation to Contracting Officer; dismisses certain damages claims because contractor failed to present evidence of causation), subsequently (see above) reissued upon reconsideration

Groundbreaker Development Corp. v. United States, No. 22-578 (Jan. 12, 2023) (no jurisdiction over portions of count in Complaint that assert  monetary claims (e.g. for nonpayment of invoice and for T for C costs) related to a default termination but not previously presented to the Contracting Officer for a decision; corporation previously terminated in incorporating state lacks standing to sue; grants plaintiff's motion to amend Complaint to allege de facto incorporation status as of time of commencing suit, without deciding the merits of that allegation)

OXY USA Inc. and CITGO Petroleum Corp. v. United States, No. 19-694 C (Nov. 17, 2022) (requirements and application of Anti-Assignment Act--31 U.S.C. § 3727 and 41 U.S.C. § 15)

The CENTECH Group, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-1752 (Nov. 8, 2022) (dismisses claims not previously presented to Contracting Officer for decision because claim before court involves new factual grounds and seeks different categories of relief)

Square One Armoring Services Co. v. United States, Nos.16-cv-0124, et al. (Sep. 22, 2022) (for purposes of six-year limitations period, claim for constructive change order accrues when Government instructs contractor to perform work outside scope of contract, not when contractor knows sum certain it will seek from agency)

Square One Armoring Services Co. v. United States, Nos. 16-cv-0124, et al. (Sep. 22, 2022) (pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2415(f), the Government's counterclaim to recover funds disbursed by mistake to plaintiff is not barred by the six year limitations period because counterclaim seeks to recover improperly disbursed funds (i.e., Government's undisputed overpayment of funds to plaintiff) and arises from the identical transactional facts as those supporting Plaintiff’s claims; undisputed facts establish Government mistakenly paid plaintiff at new contract price for armored truck services under old contract without authorization from a government official with actual or apparent authority)

The Boeing Co. v. United States, No. 17-1969 C (Sep. 21, 2022) (claim that plaintiff characterizes as breach of contract claim is actually claim that FAR 30.606 violates CAS statute and was illegally promulgated, which is a challenge to validity of regulation which must be brought in district court under APA; although CAFC held that no money-mandating statute is required for court's jurisdiction over plaintiff's illegal exaction claim, the court lacks authority to consider it because challenges to CAS statute must be brought pursuant to the CDA)

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. v. United States, No. 21-2327 (Aug. 19, 2022) (denies motion to dismiss count in Complaint because Government's argument that Contracting Officer's decision did not cover B&P costs conflicts with language of decision, which mentioned such costs 23 times and claimed they were owed even though it did not specify an amount)

Textron Aviation Defense LLC v. United States, No. 20-1903 C (Aug, 12, 2022) (claim related to CAS 413 submitted more than six years after it accrued (i.e., when contractor's predecessor in interest knew or should have known all information necessary to file claim) is untimely because (i) CAS 413 does not contain a mandatory pre-claim procedure that would change this date; (ii) the contractor's CAS submission was not a routine request for payment and could have been submitted as a CDA claim at the time the claim accrued) 

Avant Assessment, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1185 (Apr. 29, 2022) (under doctrine of claim preclusion, court dismisses claims that should have been, but were not, included in convenience termination proposal originally submitted to Contracting Officer leading to a decision by the ASBCA that it lacked jurisdiction over them; denies motion to dismiss claims based upon UCC 2-606 because plaintiff could not have known of these claims at the time it presented its termination settlement proposals to Contracting Officer)

Monterey Consultants, Inc. v. United States, No. 20-1663 (Apr. 29, 2022) (denies Government's motion to dismiss suit based on CE unit price claim and constructive change claim as untimely; claims before court in present suit are largely based on different operative facts and seeks different remedies than prior claim upon which Government's motion to dismiss is based, even though the two claims involve some similarities)

DDS Holdings, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-612 C (Mar. 9, 2022) (dismisses suit for lack of jurisdiction because plaintiff "demonstrated neither outright privity of contract with the government nor a valid assignment of any claims that would constitute the necessary privity";  and six months since the Government's objection was sufficient time to permit real party interest "to ratify, join, or be substituted in the action" pursuant to RCFC 17(a))

Sergent's Mechanical Systems, Inc. d/b/a/ Sergent Constr. v. United States, No. 21-1685 C (Aug. 19, 2021) (court lacks jurisdiction to issue injunctive relief in contract dispute involving only CDA claims (challenge to default termination), motion for reconsideration denied

6601 Dorchester Investment Group, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1427 C (July 27, 2021) (dismisses Complaint for failure to state a claim because plaintiff failed to allege any specific facts to establish that he had a valid and enforceable contract with the Government)

Clarke Health Care Products, Inc. v. United States, No. 20-413 C (July 27, 2021) (denies motion for relief from prior judgment by court because fact that plaintiff revised its corrective action plan in response to GAO protests filed after court's prior judgment did not mean plaintiff had misrepresented its intentions to the court at the time of that judgment)

United Communities, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1220 C (July 23, 2021) (in contract under which plaintiff was to charge service members no more for housing than their Base Housing Allowance (BHA), court dismisses all plaintiff's theories of recovery after DoD reduced the allowances because (i) the contract specifically disclaims any duty of Government to compensate contractor and (ii) contract does not limit the method DoD may utilize to calculate BHA)

Bowman Construction Co. v. United States, No. 18-1822 C (June 14, 2021) (contractor's claim for wrongful termination is time-barred because it was not filed until five years after default termination, which contractor had failed to appeal; no jurisdiction over plaintiff's claim to recover amount its surety paid to Government as a result of termination because  Government never asserted a claim for excess reprocurement costs and plaintiff, therefore, never appealed a Contracting Officer's decision on that subject; claims for lost profits resulting from termination and home office overhead dismissed because they had not been presented previously to Contracting Officer for decision; claim for unpaid invoices survives Government's motion to dismiss because claim involves issues prior to the default termination)

Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc.. for the benefit of IMEG Corp., f/k/a KJWW Engineering v. United States, No. 19-1520 C (Jan. 29, 2021) (follows precedent of earlier decision involving same plaintiff; no jurisdiction over contracting officer’s decision finding that two, unrelated contractors are jointly liable for the same injury and sum certain arising from alleged breaches of their respective, independent contracts, in part, because situation might allow Government to seek double recovery)  

Sarro & Assocs., Inc. v. United States, No. 19-691 C (Jan. 15, 2021) (no jurisdiction over claim for breach of implied duty to disclose superior knowledge because it was not first presented to the Contracting Officer for a decision and is not based on same operative facts as presented to Contracting Officer; dismisses claims involving contractor's costs of complying with permitting requirement because under fixed-price contract's Permits and Responsibilities clause contractor was responsible for those costs)

Zafer Constr. Co. v. United States, No. 19-673 (Dec. 30, 2020) (contractor failed to present delay claim to Contracting Officer within six years of its accrual; submission of, and subsequent discussions concerning, REA did not toll limitations period)

Johnson Lasky Kindelin Architects, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-1419 C (Dec. 23, 2020) (under CDA, court lacks jurisdiction to decide a case predicated upon a government claim contained in a contracting officer’s final decision finding that two, unrelated contractors are jointly and severally liable for the same injury and sum certain arising from independent breaches of their respective contracts because such a final decision is based on a theory of damages sounding in tort and is, for that reason, invalid)

Philip Emiabata d/b/a Philema Brothers v. United States, No. 18-605 C (Dec. 18, 2020) (dismisses default termination claim on the basis of res judicata because it had been decided in prior CoFC decision and affirmed on appeal to CAFC; transfers claim related to propriety of contractor's suspension from contracting list (over which CoFC lacks jurisdiction) to district court)

Hydraulics International, Inc. v. United States, Nos. 19-105, 20-598 (Dec. 15, 2020) (denies Government's motion to dismiss based on alleged absence of Contracting Officer's final decision because letter from Contracting Officer described it as a final decision and notified contractor of its CDA appeal rights)

HCIC Enterprises, LLC d/b/a HCI General Contractors v. United States, No. 18-1943 C  (Aug. 11, 2020) (dismisses all claims not included in original complaint because contractor has not alleged factual and legal bases to support them and they were not previously submitted to Contracting Officer for decision)

JKB Solutions and Services, LLC v. United States, No. 19-1390 C (May 5, 2020) (denies Government's motion to dismiss because task order under ID/IQ contract was latently ambiguous as to whether task order required Government to order certain number of classes per ordering period)

CanPro Investments, Ltd. v. United States, No. 16-286 C (May 4, 2020) (denies Government's motion to dismiss one count in Complaint because legal theory articulated in underlying claim is sufficiently close to theory espoused in Complaint so that Contracting Officer was put on notice of the matter at issue, especially where both the claim and the Complaint are based on the same operative facts and thus the Complaint does not present a new claim not previously submitted to Contracting Officer)

Pacific Coast Community Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-1187 (Apr. 23, 2020) (dismisses claim that Government improperly deducted amounts from plaintiff's invoices because plaintiff did not identify any contractual provision that the Government breached by its actions), affirmed by CAFC on appeal

Doyon Utilities, LLC v. United States, No. 18-199 C (Apr. 20, 2020) (because contract contained a specific provision excepting interest from the Changes clause, contractor is precluded by sovereign immunity from recovering interest on borrowings through an equitable adjustment)

Penrose Park Assocs., LP v. United States, No. 191346 C (Mar. 23, 2020) (dismisses CDA breach claims because CDA certification was only signed by plaintiff's agent (its attorney); no jurisdiction over counts sounding in tort or based on state law)

Vanquish Worldwide, LLC v. United States, Nos. 17-96 C, et al. (Mar. 6, 2020) (claims by SDVOSB regarding trucking services contracts in Afghanistan; rejects Government's jurisdictional argument that CDA breach of contract claims concerning failure to award award task orders must be dismissed due to FASA's limits on protests of such awards; IDIQ contract's minimum order provision did not shield agency from claim involving separate obligations under contract regarding fairness in assigning task orders among multiple contractors; for purposes of surviving Government's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, contractor may assert breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing "on information and belief" when facts are peculiarly within the possession and control of the defendant, or where the belief is based on factual information that makes the inference of culpability plausible; despite high standard of proof required, court refuses to dismiss contractor's claim that Government refused to exercise option in bad faith before the parties have conducted discovery; dismisses contractor's claims for nonpayment of demurrage because: (i) the contract specifically disclaimed Government's responsibility for delays caused by non-U.S. Government security forces, specifically those of Afghan government, even though the contractor was required to use them; and (ii) Government's interpretation of demurrage provisions is reasonable and harmonizes various clauses on the subject whereas contractor's does not)

Raytheon Co. v. United States, No. (Jan. 14, 2020) (court has jurisdiction over contractor's claim that Contracting Officer's directive that the contractor deliver vendor lists containing technical data with markings she specified was invalid because she failed to follow the statutory procedures governing challenges to restrictive markings)

Sandstone Assocs., Inc. v. United States, No.19-900 (Dec. 12, 2019) (no jurisdiction over appeal filed more than 12 months after receiving Contracting Officer's decision)

Constructora Guzman, S.A. v. United States, No. 19-498 C (Nov. 19, 2019) (denies Government's motion to dismiss count in Complaint alleging that contract modification permitting Government to retain 10% of payments was created for benefit of unpaid subcontractor as third party beneficiary; dismisses count in Complaint alleging that subcontractor had implied-in-fact contract with United States)

Coffman Specialties, Inc. v. United States, No. 18-1882 C (Oct. 31, 2019) (denies Government's motion to dismiss count in complaint for costs of soil disposal because neither party provided court with complete copy of contract, which prevented court from being able to use contract as a whole to interpret disputed provisions)

Looks Great Services, Inc.  v. United States, No. 19-937 C (Oct. 17, 2019) (no jurisdiction over plaintiff's suit for injunction because suit is not bid protest and plaintiff did not satisfy CDA requirements for bringing breach of contract claim before filing suit)

Thomas Nussbaum v. United States, No. 19-376 (Sep. 20, 2019) (contractor's suit was untimely because not filed until nine years after Government denied or was deemed to have denied his CDA claim and contractor did not satisfy the requirements for equitable tolling of the limitations period because contractor failed to pursue his rights during that nine-year period and contracting officer's failure to respond to claim does not satisfy requirement for equitable tolling of CDA's one-year period for filing suit in court)

Kudsk Construction, Inc. v. United States, No. 18-1032 C (Aug. 30, 2019) (denies Government's motion to dismiss claim for unabsorbed overhead for period before notice to proceed was issued; interprets CAFC's decision in Nicon, Inc. to bar only unabsorbed overhead claims for such periods that are based on the Eichleay formula; refuses to dismiss plaintiff's claim for costs of reporting pursuant to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 because the associated clause (FAR 52.204-11) was not incorporated into the contract and the Government did not establish it was required to be under the Christian doctrine)

E&I Global Energy Services, Inc., and E&C Global, LLC v. United States, No. 19-244 C (Aug. 29, 2019) (dismisses counts from complaint for failure to state a claim because Government had no contractual obligation to reimburse continuation contractor on defaulted contract for payments it had made to defaulted contractor's subcontractors and suppliers), contractor's motion for reconsideration of three interlocutory orders denied

Jarurn Investors, LLC v. United States, No. 18-1216 C (Aug. 12, 2019) (dismisses (for failure to state a claim) lessor's breach claims because Postal Service's requirement that current lessor remove and replace defective floor tiles that originally had been installed in connection with a prior lease was not a breach of the current lease or a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing; no jurisdiction over lessor's claim for unjust enrichment)

Just in Time Staffing v. United States, No. 16-1268 (June 11, 2019) (Government not liable for any costs contractor incurred in negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with its own employees who were attempting to unionize)

The Boeing Co. v. United States, No. 17-1969 C (May 29, 2019) (dismisses illegal extraction claim for lack of jurisdiction because 41 U.S.C. § 1503(b) is not money-mandating statute; contractor waived right to challenge conflict it saw between the CAS statute, the CAS clause and FAR 30.606 because it consistently entered into contracts with the Government, after FAR 30.606 became effective, without challenging the regulation in any type of pre-award protest or negotiation with the government, before its contracts were awarded), reversed by CAFC

CB&I Areva Mox Services, LLC v. United States, Nos. 16-950 C, et al. (May 29, 2019) (under CDA, contractors not entitled to interest on amount of affirmative government claim that contractor had successfully challenged in court)

Lite Machines Corp. v. United States, No. 18-1411 C May 21, 2019 (15 U.S.C. § 638(r)(4) which provides that, "[t]o the greatest extent practicable, Federal agencies and Federal prime contractors shall issue Phase III awards relating to technology, including sole source awards, to the SBIR and STTR award recipients that developed the technology" does not create enforceable contract right to such an award)

Agility Public Warehousing Co., K.S.C.P. v. United States, Nos. 18-1347C, 15-351C (May 9, 2019) (pursuant to Debt Collection Act, Government could offset amounts Contracting Officer determined contractor had been overpaid under contract to which Federal Circuit had determined Government was not a party (but only administered) against funds owed to contractor on another contract to which Government was party, even though such offset would not be valid under principles of common law offset)

Fortis Networks, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-531 C (May 9, 2019) ((i) court lacks jurisdiction over suit for injunction to stop offsets to collect debt because  suit is based on alleged breach of  voluntary installment repayment agreement, which plaintiff has not shown to be a contract; and (ii) suit is barred by Election  Doctrine because plaintiff is currently challenging debt in appeal to ASBCA)

McLeod Group, LLC v. United States, No. 18-628 C (Apr. 4, 2019) (no jurisdiction over claims based on blanket purchase agreement because it is not a contract)

C & L Group, LLC, and Makko Construction, LLC v. United States, No. 18-536 C (Nov. 29, 2018) (grants Government's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; allegations in Complaint were not sufficient to establish an express or implied-in-fact contract between the plaintiff and the Government because the contracts expressly stated the United States was not a party to them, even though the Government had to approve the contracts and provided financing for them)

Tyrone Allen d/b/a X3 Logistics, LLC v. United States, No. 17-475 C (Nov. 6, 2018) (no CDA jurisdiction over claims based on either a decision to disqualify a firm as an approved provider under DoD's Transport Service Provider program or commercial bills of lading relied on by plaintiff are subject to CDA; plaintiff's non-CDA breach of contract claims dismissed because they are barred by six-year limitations period of Tucker Act; claim based on alleged breach of FAR 48 C.F.R. § 9.402(b) must be dismissed because that regulation and others related to suspension and debarment are not money-mandating)

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. United States, No. 12-286 C (Oct. 31, 2018) (contractor's claim for cardinal change was one for breach damages and is dismissed because contractor failed to specify sum certain in claim to Contracting Officer; denies contractor's motion to dismiss  count one of Government's counterclaim as different from claim described in Contracting Officer's final decision because "the contracting officer’s decision and count one are based on the same underlying theory–failure to perform on time; they seek the same relief–damages for loss of the use of the machines; and they rely on the same comparison between the controlling schedule and the dates the machines were installed"; Government's counterclaim for contractor's alleged failure to supply certain spare parts is materially different from counterclaim described in final decision because it is based on a materially different list of parts, quantities, and prices from those listed in final decision; dismisses Postal Service's claim that contractor repudiated its obligation to provide life cycle support for lack of evidence)

Peterson Industrial Depot, Inc. et al. v. United States, No. 17-876 C (Oct. 22, 2018) (contract's general reference to "all applicable laws" was not sufficient to incorporate specific regulations into contract and, therefore, plaintiffs' breach-of-contract claim could not be based on those unincorporated regulations; plaintiffs cannot rely on alleged breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing where contract expressly disclaims alleged duty on which plaintiffs' claim relies)

Planate Management Group, LLC v. United States, No. 17-1968 C (July 27, 2018) (court had jurisdiction over counts in Complaint for (i) breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing and (ii) cardinal change because the factual allegations underlying each of those counts were included in the claim submitted to, and decided by, the Contracting Officer, even though those two theories of recovery had not been specifically mentioned)

CB&I AREVA MOX Services, LLC v. United States, Nos. 16-950 C, et al. (July 30, 2018) (amended version of earlier opinion based on Government's request for partial reconsideration; partial summary judgment in favor of contractor on issue of contract interpretation: contract entitles contractor to retain provisional incentive fee payments until its construction of Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility for DOE is completed; denies Government's motion for partial dismissal ("The thrust of Defendant’s argument seems to be that Count III is styled as a breach of contract claim rather than an equitable adjustment claim, but this is a semantic distinction without a substantive difference"); Government's argument that the plaintiff failed to comply with 30-day notice requirement of "Changes" clause "might apply if any change orders existed here, but they do not";  Government's six-year limitations argument fails because plaintiff "could not have known of the breach – and its claim did not accrue – until it knew or should have known that the [Government] would not process a baseline change to add fee to the contract [, and the Government] did not even direct [the plaintiff] to start the rebaseline process until January 2012"; plaintiff has right to appeal affirmative government claim included in Contracting Officer's decision)

ACI SCC, JV, et al. v. United States, No. 17-1749 C (Mar. 12, 2018) (dismisses subcontractor's suit for amount unpaid from prime as moot because ASBCA had already dismissed case (which involved same allegations as the current case) with prejudice almost two years earlier and any remaining efforts to collect judgment by subcontractor are state court issues)

Philip Emiabata d/b/ Philema Brothers v. United States, No. 17-447 C (Nov. 17, 2017) (apart from portion of suit challenging default termination, plaintiff's various contract claims for damages must be dismissed because they were not first presented to the Contracting Officer for a decision)

Scott Goodsell v. United States, No. 17-171 C (Oct. 30, 2017) (Government's letter informing lessor that, effective on a stated date, Government would vacate leased premises and terminate lease and that Government would not pay rent beyond that date constituted government claim under CDA)

Brian X. Scott v. United States, No. 17-471 C (Oct. 24, 2017) (agency properly reviewed government employee's unsolicited proposal under FAR 15.606 and rejected it because it addressed a previously-published agency requirement; plaintiff's allegations that agency improperly disclosed or misused data marked as restrictive in unsolicited proposal are speculative and implausible)

James M Fogg Farms, Inc., et al. v. United States, No. 17-188 C (Sep. 27, 2017) (contract that incorporated regulation but not provision in underlying statute upon which plaintiff was relying did not create a contractual term that could be breached)

Vanquish Worldwide, LLC v. United States, No. 17-335 C (Sep. 18, 2017) (contractor's messages to Contracting Officer concerning disputed performance evaluation did not constitute a CDA claim because they did not request a decision and contemplated further dialogue)

Michael Roth & Assocs., Architects & Planners, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-626 C (July 27, 2017) (dismisses action because contractor failed to present claim to Contracting Officer based legal theory ultimately advanced at court, i.e., that the agency allegedly failed to comply with obligations imposed upon it by the contract's "Design Within Funding Limitations" clause (FAR 52.236-22) and nothing in the contract required the Government to increase the contractor's fee to 6% of the final construction cost estimate once that estimate had been adjusted upward)

Claude Mayo Construction Co. v. United States, No. 15-1263 C  (June 23, 2017) (denies Government's motion to dismiss breach-of-contract count of amended Complaint because pleading adequately alleges a contractual obligation that the Government failed to meet)

L-3 Communications Integrated Systems L.P. v. United States, No. 16-1265 C (May 31, 2017) (dismisses suit for lack of jurisdiction because contractor never submitted a certified claim to Contracting Officer)

Kansas City Power & Light Co. v. United States, No. 15-348 C (Mar. 27, 2017) (denies plaintiff contractor's motion to strike Government's affirmative defense of offset because it is not a CDA "claim" that required a Contracting Officer's decision)

ASI Constructors, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-687 C (Dec. 20, 2016) (court has jurisdiction over claims that were clearly described in legal memorandum that formed part of claim originally submitted to Contracting Officer for decision; contractor's differing site conditions claim involves questions of fact regarding contract as a whole and is not subject to summary dismissal for failure to state a claim; court denies Government's motions to dismiss superior knowledge, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and misrepresentation claims)

Zafer Taahhut Insaat ve Ticaret, A.S. v. United States, No. 13-861 C (Dec. 9, 2016) (dismisses case because contractor had not requested a Contracting Officer's decision on its underlying REA)

Claude Mayo Construction Co. v. United States, No. 15-1263 C (Oct. 6, 2016) (in dispute over default termination, court dismisses:  (i) counts of complaint alleging (a) interference with contractor's ability to secure other contracts and (b) unjust enrichment, as outside court's jurisdiction and (ii) count alleging breach of contract because contractor had not submitted CDA claim for breach to Contracting Officer)

California Department of Water Resources v. United States, No. 15-1563 C (Oct. 4, 2016) (agreements for operation and maintenance of water storage facilities in California are not contracts within the coverage of the CDA)

Federal Contracting, Inc. d/b/a Bryan Construction, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-215 C (Sep. 28, 2016) (contractor's responses to cure notices and notice of termination did not constitute CDA claims and default termination, itself, was not decision on those alleged claims; contractor's request that Contracting Officer withdraw unsatisfactory performance evaluation and Contracting Officer's denial of that request constituted CDA claim and decision)

Baistar Mechanical, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-1473 (Sep. 28, 2016) (court lacks jurisdiction over quantum meruit claim; dismisses claims based on (i) directions received from Contracting Officer's technical representative (because contract specifically stated only Contracting Officer had authority to order changed work) except claims for allegedly emergency work requirements and (ii) Government's failure to order certain work because contract did not require Government to do so; refuses to dismiss other claims based on contract ambiguity where contractor has alleged course of dealing supporting its interpretation)

Bryndon Fisher v. United States, No. 15-1575 C (Sep. 26, 2016) (refuses to dismiss suit claiming that PACER system overcharges users for certain HTML-formatted documents)

DekaTron Corp. v. United States, No. 15-1167 C  (Sep. 16, 2016) (contractor's allegations of bad faith underlying Government's decision not to exercise option sufficient to withstand Government's motion to dismiss)

Tender Years Learning Corp. v. United States, No. 15-719 C (Sep. 12, 2016) (allows contractor (i) to amend its Complaint to eliminate bid protest allegations and allege only implied-in-fact contract damages and (ii) to bifurcate issues of entitlement and quantum)

Nova Group/Tutor-Saliba, a Joint Venture v. United States, No. 15-885 C (July 22, 2016) (court denies contractor's unopposed motion to transfer case to ASBCA for consolidation with another appeal involving same contract because appeal would be time-barred there and involves wholly different facts, but grants contractor's alternative motion to transfer ASBCA appeal to court for consolidation with this case)

M.K. Ferguson Co. v. United States, No. 12-57 C (Apr. 14, 2016) (certification of subcontractor's pass-through claim required of bankrupt prime by bankruptcy court was defective, but not fatally so, and was cured by subsequent, proper CDA certification submitted by prime after action in Court of Federal Claims had commenced; bankrupt prime under orders from bankruptcy court fulfilled requirements of Severin doctrine that it have obligations to its subcontractor permitting it to submit pass-through subcontractor claim; on its own motion, court remands case to DOE Contracting Officer to issue decision because dispute involves significant issues of DOE regulations and and contract documents, which should be addressed in the first instance by the DOE)

Kansas City Power & Light Co. v. United States, No. 15-384 C (Jan. 13, 2016) (denies Government's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction because counts in Complaint are based upon same underlying facts and theory of underlying certified claim to Contracting Officer, i.e., that a contractual provision entitles the contractor to indemnification from the Government for costs associated with wrongful death action against contractor)

Rocky Mountain Helium, LLC v. United States, No. 15-336 (Sep. 30, 2015) (plaintiff in default of basic obligation to pay United States certain sum lacks standing to complain of subsequent alleged contract breaches by Government; court lacks jurisdiction over dispute under settlement agreement that provided for all disputes to be decided by named CBCA judge through ADR)

Estes Express Lines v. United States, No. (Sep. 29, 2015) (dismisses suit for lack of jurisdiction because none of plaintiff's previous communications with Government satisfied requirements for CDA claim, including requirements that the submission: (i) be more than a routine request for payment; (ii) include a request for a Contracting Officer's decision; (iii) be for a sum certain; and (since the amount requested exceeded $100,000) (iv) be certified)

CSX Transportation, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-1170 C  (Sep. 18, 2015) (dismisses suit because original claim did not contain a CDA certification)

Solaria Corp. v. United States, No. 13-949 (Sep.1, 2015) (a non-CDA agreement to consider making a loan to the plaintiff left sufficient discretion in the Government so that plaintiff's complaint was not sufficient to allege any breach by the Government after it decided against the loan)

Demodulation, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-236 C (Aug. 27, 2015) (subcontractor under CRADA had no right to file direct action against United States)

Authentic Apparel Group, LLC v. United States, No. 15-16 C (Aug. 26, 2015) (dismisses individual plaintiff because he did not satisfy requirements for third party beneficiary of license agreement between plaintiff company and Government)

Muhammad Tariq Baha v. United States, No. 14-494 C (Aug. 24, 2015) (Plaintiff's complaint satisfies pleading and CDA requirements)

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. v. United States, No. 12-898 C (Aug. 20, 2015) (claim preclusion bars "alternative" government claim re alleged CAS noncompliance that could have been raised in Contracting Officer's decision that already has been litigated) 

Donald A. Woodruff and The DuckeGroup, LLC v. United States, No. 14-1213 C (Aug. 19, 2015) (no standing because no privity of contract, and no jurisdiction because of (i) prior election to proceed at CBCA and (ii) failure to file suit within 12 months of Contracting Officer's decision)

SUFI Network Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-804 C (July 21, 2015) (in case involving nonappropriated-fund activity decided under Wunderlich Act, Government has no right of appeal of board decision on remand)

United States Enrichment Corp. v. United States, No. 13-365 C  (June 3, 2015) (contractor's claim that Government had failed to pay contractor's proposed indirect cost rates is sufficient for jurisdiction over suit challenging indirect costs rates subsequently established by Government)

HSH Nordbank AG v. United States, No. 14-899 C (May 19, 2015) (mere assignment of contractual rights pursuant to Assignment of Claims Act does not create privity of contract between private party assignee and Government, and the plaintiff did not act as a surety; plaintiff cannot complain of offsets by Government in part because it failed to provide timely notice of assignment, as required by the statute)

Mansoor International Development Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-496 C (May 11, 2015) (court has jurisdiction over contractor's complaint that methodology used by Contracting Officer in rejecting contractor's claim violated implied duty of good faith and fair dealing)

Jasmine International Trading & Services Co., W.L.L. v. United States, No. 10-141 C (Mar. 31, 2015) (refuses to dismiss Government's common law fraud counterclaim because allegations in Government's amended answer and counterclaim are sufficient to meet "but-for" causation test)

Robert Dourandish v. United States, No. 14-037 C (Mar. 25, 2015) (no jurisdiction over claim by individual shareholder concerning company's contract with the Government)

Comprehensive Community Health & Psychological Services, LLC v. United States, No. 14-222 C (Mar. 12, 2015) (invoices not in dispute at the time they were submitted for payment did not constitute CDA claim; contractor's challenge to default termination filed more than 12 months after the fact was untimely)

JEM Transport, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-518 C (March 2, 2015) (unsigned document to extend contract term, which was sent to contractor, was not offer that could be accepted by the contractor's signature, because Contracting Officer neither sent it, nor ever signed it; contractor's letter was not a claim because it did not include a demand for a sum certain)

Rudolph and Sletten, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-647 C (Feb. 23, 2015) (CDA allows Contracting Officer only one extension of 60-day time limit for deciding claim in excess of $100,000. Here's Contracting Officer's attempt at second extension amounts to deemed denial of claim, which gives court jurisdiction; court exercises its discretion and stays proceedings and orders Contracting Officer to issue decision within 30 days)

Quimba Software, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-142 C (Feb. 5, 2015) (denies contractor's motion to dismiss government counterclaim, which, although it corrected an error in the original Contracting Officer's decision and reduced the amount sought to be recovered, was based on the same operative facts as the original decision)

Professional Performance Development Group, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-454 C (Feb 4, 2015) (denies Government's motion to dismiss portions of complaint alleging excusable delay in response to default termination because they were defensive allegations rather than affirmative claims that needed to be submitted to Contracting Officer)

Canpro Investments Ltd. v. United States, No. 14-1243 C (Jan. 29, 2015) (no jurisdiction over lessor's suit for preliminary injunction requiring government/lessee to abate noise and overcrowding by reducing number of visitors to government offices in leased premises pending Contracting Officer's decision on contractor's claim)

Total Engineering Inc. v. United States, No. 13-881 C (Jan. 26, 2015) (contractor's allegation of defective specifications as a defense to government claim for deductive credit is not a CDA claim)

Anchorage, A Municipal Corporation v. United States, No. 14-166 C (Jan. 22, 2015) (agreements between city and Government to expand the port of Anchorage were not cooperative agreements but rather express contracts that presume monetary damages for breach and, thus, confer Tucker Act jurisdiction)

John C. Brisbin v. United States, No. 14-389 C (Jan. 13, 2015) (dismisses pro se suit filed more than 12 months after Contracting Officer's decision, even though the suit had originally been improperly filed in District Court, which had failed to transfer the case as it should have done under 28 U.S.C. 1631)

Dan Balbach v. United States, No. 14-712 C (Jan. 9, 2015) (dismisses suit involving corporation not represented by counsel, but by an individual appearing pro se)

Williams v. United States, No. 13-978 C (Sep. 25, 2014) (court lacks jurisdiction over claim not previously presented to Contracting Officer in a sum certain; contract whereby plaintiff purchased aircraft from the Government is covered by the CDA)

TPL, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-482 C (Sep. 16, 2014) (contractor's failure to file breach claim with Contracting Officer precluded it from alleging government breach as defense to Government's own claim for breach)

Compliance Solutions Occupational Trainers, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-194 C (Sep. 16, 2014) (cooperative agreement that provided it must be signed by both parties to be effective, and which was not signed by Government, was not a binding agreement)

Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-20 C  (Aug. 29, 2014) (dismisses suit filed more than 12 months after contractor received default termination letter from Contracting Officer), motion for reconsideration denied

Threshold Technologies, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-599 C (Aug. 29, 2014) (no express contract or contract implied in law between NASA and subcontractor/plaintiff, and subcontractor is not third-party beneficiary; however, plaintiff has pled sufficient facts for court jurisdiction over implied-in-fact contract theory)

New Hampshire Flight Procurement, LLC v. United States, No. 13-567 C (Aug. 29, 2014) (dismisses complaint because there is no express or implied-in-fact contract between NASA and subcontractor, and subcontractor is not third-party beneficiary)

American Government Properties and Houma SSA, LLC v. United States, Nos. 09-153, et al. (Aug. 28, 2014) (dismisses suit challenging default termination because contract had been improperly assigned)

David Frankel v. United States, No. 13-546 C (Aug. 27, 2014) (court has jurisdiction over claim that Government breached contract to provide winner of competition with monetary prize)

United States Enrichment Corp. v. United States, No. 13-365 C (July 28, 2014) (no jurisdiction over portions of breach-of-contract claims that relate to plaintiff's work as subcontractor)

Delaware Cornerstone Builders, Inc. v. United States, No. 10-588 C (July 24, 2014) (agency's failure to appoint successor Contracting Officer upon original Contracting Officer's death does not eliminate CDA requirement to submit claim to Contracting Officer prior to bringing suit; dismisses suit because claim in complaint differs from claim previously submitted by contractor)

Palafox Street Assocs., L.P. v. United States, No. 13-247 C (June 30,2014) (certified claim resubmitted by contractor at Government's urging was not request for reconsideration of original claim)

The Hanover Insurance Co., et al. v. United States, No. (May 27, 2014) (in dispute over propriety of default termination, court lacks jurisdiction over contractor's claim for convenience termination costs that has not been presented to Contracting Officer for decision)

Affiliated Construction Group, Inc. v. United States, No. 10-444 C (Apr. 16, 2014) (dismisses claim based on different operative facts from claim previously submitted to Contracting Officer for decision)

Uniglobe General Trading & Contracting Co., W.L.L. v. United States, No. 10-204 C (Apr. 2, 2014) (contract modification that did not (i) indicate it was a final decision, (ii) include a demand for payment, or (iii) inform contractor of its appeal rights)

Rollock Co., et al. v. United States, No. 12-245 C (Mar. 28, 2014) (portion of contract involving sale of business scrap inventory is governed by CDA, even though other portions of contract are covered by Relocation Act; rejects Government's contention that contractor failed to submit claims to Contracting Officer because Government did not identify who that was and individuals to whom contractor submitted claims made partial payments on them)

Allen Engineering Contractor, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-684 C (Mar. 27, 2014) (grants government motion to dismiss challenge to default termination for failure to state claim upon which relief can be granted)

Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-169 C (Mar. 7, 2014) (no jurisdiction over suit on claim that could not properly the subject of Contracting Officer's decision because another suit on essentially the same claim already was before the court) 

Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-780 C (Mar. 7, 2014) (indemnification request was a monetary claim requiring statement of sum certain and certification: no jurisdiction over claim absent such prerequisites)

Montano Electrical Contractor v. United States, No. 13-435 C (Feb. 20, 2014) (dismisses subcontractor's direct claim against Government (which was neither sponsored nor passed through by the prime) for lack of jurisdiction)

Palafox Street Assocs., L.P. v. United States, No. 13-247 C (Feb. 12, 2014) (government versus contractor claims; election of forum; res judicata)



Changes; Breach; Authority of Government Agents; Equitable Adjustments; Contract Interpretation;
Defective Specification Releases; Accord and Satisfaction; Fraud

 

GBA Associates Limited Partnership v. United States, No. 20-116 C (Apr. 16, 2024) (firm providing security services to Afghanistan government under Afghan contract that utilized funds provided by United States to Afghanistan and that was approved by the United States did not allege facts sufficient to prove that it had implied-in-fact contract with United States to compensate it for shortfall in funds owing by Afghanistan; specifically it did not allege facts sufficient to establish that United States had intent to contract with it as a guarantor)

BES Design/Build LLC v. United States, No. 19-1893 (Jan. 26, 2024) (contract interpretation; where contract was ambiguous on the question whether contractor was to be paid on a per person/per day basis, court looks to extrinsic evidence, specifically parties' conduct before the dispute arose, and finds parties clearly acted as if they agreed that was the basis of payment; denies claim for unabsorbed overhead because contractor did not prove it was ever on standby, much less that it was for an indefinite duration)

Lennar Corp. and HPS Development Co., LP v. United States, No. 23-416 (Nov. 8, 2023) (denies Government's motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claims that the  Government improperly denied their request for indemnification under Section 330 of the NDAA for FY 1993, amended by Pub. L. No. 103-160, Div. A, Title X, § 1002, l07 Stat. 1745 (Nov. 30, 1993))

Platinum Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-1714 C (Oct. 16, 2023) (no meeting of minds concerning price because plaintiff had withdrawn tenders before they were memorialized in government bills of lading, so no contract formed and plaintiff is limited to quantum meruit recovery)

Platinum Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 18-1539 (Aug. 17, 2023) (denies cross motions for summary judgment because neither party entitled to utilize rates different from those specified in contract)

The Government of Greece Hellenic Air Force v. United States, No. 19-1615 (July 18, 2023) (where claim accrued when Government repeatedly gave contractor notice that LOA on which it was based had closed, there was no basis for accrual suspension, and court lacked jurisdiction over suit filed more than six years later)

Slone Assocs., Inc. v. United States, No. 18-669 C (July 14, 2023) (submerged piles of timber and buried riprap did not constitute Type 1 differing site condition (because fact that they were not mentioned in contract documents was not an affirmative representation that they were not there) or Type 2 differing site condition (because plaintiff did not prove items differed materially from conditions ordinarily encountered and generally recognized as inhering in work of the character provided in the contract, in this case work involving underwater construction tasks, such as pile driving) and, in any event, plaintiff did not establish that damages to its structures were caused by the submerged items; no jurisdiction over superior knowledge claim not previously presented to Contracting Officer for decision; Government's change to sequence of work not shown to have caused contractor to incur extra costs beyond those it would have incurred without the change; Government's actions in failing to compensate contractor "if" government actions caused extra costs did not breach implied duty of good faith and fair dealing because those actions did not cause the contractor's extra costs; various quantum issues decided by the court)

American Ground Transportation, Inc. and Liberty Launch, Inc. v. United States, No. 20-123 C (May 26, 2023) (contract interpretation; concession contract to operate shuttle buses on military base had consideration (space, advertising at cost, and coordination with the Government) and did not grant concession contractor exclusivity and thus was not breached by Government in allowing other shuttle bus operator on base; continued performance after the contract expired did not establish an implied-in-fact option extension of the contract because it  was not on the same terms as the expired contract and the plaintiff did not have any obligation to the Government after the contract expired, making any further purported contract illusory; refuses to dismiss allegations re violation of Government's duty of good faith and fair dealing because concession contractors are induced to pay commission for contract on promise that agency would coordinate with them so that they could obtain reasonable benefits of contracting; dismisses claims over which court lacks jurisdiction, e.g.,  claims for interference with prospective economic relations and negligence are tort claims)

Baldi Bros., Inc. v. United States, No. 16-536 (May 12, 2023) (Government's responses to contractor's request for information regarding contaminated soil and its earthwork submittals did not suggest or require that the contractor suspend the work and thus did not cause a delay in the work; plain language of contract required contractor to dispose of excess soil at an offsite disposal facility and to pay for any additional testing required by that facility )

State of Ohio v. United States, No. 20-288 C (Oct. 7, 2022) (for purpose of six-year limitations period, accrual suspension rule does not apply to claims of which contractor would have been aware had it exercised a contractual right; no jurisdiction over claim for declaratory relief; contract interpretation: Government breached contract by billing contractor for costs not within proper definition of joint use operation and maintenance costs as established by previous decision in case; Government breached implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by failing to maintain usable records of its charges and by employing arbitrary billing practices)

Seneca Sawmill Co. v. United States, No. 16-1001 C (Aug. 19, 2022) (although contract provision originally relied on by Government to partially terminate timber sales contract was inapposite because it only applied when a court order required the termination, other provisions permitted partial termination if continuation of the contract would cause certain environmental injuries or other adverse effects, so contractor is not entitled to further recovery under the applicable clause because it has not proved “the rates paid for comparable timber on the same national forest” during the six-month period that preceded the partial termination were higher than the then-current contract rates)

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. United States, No. 12-286 C (July 13, 2022) (Government owes contract contract balance for conforming supplies because delays in delivery of those supplies are attributable to the Government; decisions on a slew of other claims and counterclaims result in little recovery by both sides)

Raytheon Co. v. United States, No. 19-883 C (2022) (June 30, 2022) (contract interpretation; contractor's vendor lists consisting of generic descriptors of parts contractor  purchased, coupled with numerical identifiers, along with the identity, address, and DUNS number of the supplier or manufacturer that sold the parts, but not including descriptions of the physical, functional, or performance requirements, or the design, manufacture, or assembly, of the parts are not "technical data" under DFARS 252.227-7013(a)(15) and that the Contracting Officer's decision directing the contractor to remove certain proprietary markings from the vendor lists  based on the assumption that they comprised technical data was improper)

T.H.R. Enterprises, Inc. v. United States, No. 20-558 C (June 8, 2022) (general release in bilateral settlement agreement of "any and all claims, demands, liabilities, actions, causes of action, damages, expenses, and obligations whatsoever" was broad enough to cover all claims arising prior to the execution of the agreement, not just two claims obliquely referred to in it with the language "including but not limited to")

Nova Group/Tutor-Saliba, A Joint Venture v. United States, Nos. 15-885 C, 16-925 C (Mar. 17, 2022) (denies differing site conditions claims because the contract documents did not misrepresent subsurface soil conditions and disclosed that there might be subsurface obstructions, and readily available information alerted contractors that certain subsurface conditions might be present, and contract required contractors to conduct investigations to precisely characterize those conditions; plaintiff's alternate defective specifications claim is just recasting of its unsuccessful differing site conditions claims; Government constructively changed contract by requiring plaintiff to re-analyze and justify design that Government already had approved, which delayed critical path work and involved acceleration because the Government required the work to be completed on the original schedule)

Phillips & Jordan, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-1301 (Feb. 28, 2022) (substandard briefing by plaintiff; plaintiff failed to prove existence of differing site condition because (i) contract did not represent soil conditions in way plaintiff claimed and (ii) plaintiff failed to prove it relied on its interpretation in bidding; plaintiff has not proven entitlement to more compensation than was already provided in a mod for another differing site condition; plaintiff cannot rely on modified total cost theory of damages because it did not prove its bid was reasonable or that it was not, itself, responsible for the added costs)

Anchorage, A Municipal Corp. v. United States, No. 14-166 C (Dec. 9, 2021) (strikes Government's arguments raised for first time in post-hearing briefs, in contravention of court's orders, after seven-year-long litigation; clear language of MOU concerning Port of Anchorage expansion project required Government "to provide a complete item of construction or to provide design construction and project management services, free of defects"; subsequent Memorandum of Agreement "confirm[ed] [the Government's] obligation to oversee, design, and construct the Project"; Government breached MOU by contracting with a party that failed to produce a project free of defects; Government failed to enforce its available remedies against its contractor for project defects; Government breached Memorandum of Agreement by settling its contractor's claims without notice to plaintiff)

Sunrez Corp. v. United States, No. 21-568 (Jan. 20, 2022) (contract interpretation; dismisses claim that Government breached SBIR contract by failing to submit contract items (pallets) for certification because, neither the contract (when read as a whole) nor the governing SBIR statute required the Government to do so; plaintiff failed to show any contract provision that obligated the Government to perform any of three other express "duties" the plaintiff claimed the Government had failed to perform; however, denies Government's motion to dismiss claim that failure to submit pallets for certification violated implied duty of good faith and fair dealing because of a "plethora" of disputed material facts)

E&I Global Energy Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-244 C (Jan. 10, 2022) (contractor did not provide convincing evidence that it completed the work on disputed CLINs so Government's failure to pay for those items was not a breach;  contractor not entitled to compensation for information incorporated in a solicitation amendment which it had a responsibility to read and which it subsequently represented that it had read)

Lodge Constr., Inc. v. United States, Nos. 13-499, 13-800 (Jan. 10, 2022) (contractor's claim fraudulently based on operating and standby rates for dump truck listed in USACE Manual when the dump trucks it actually used were worth far less than the truck in the manual; inefficiency rate used by contractor in calculating its claim was fraudulent because it was not reasonably accurate and because it captured days that were not part of contractor's dewatering claim; contractor's failure to utilize  information in a contract modification while calculating its inefficiency ratio was not fraudulent because its interpretation of the mod was within the zone of reasonableness)

Baldi Bros, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-536 (Oct. 25, 2021) (contract interpretation; contract unambiguously required construction contractor to disposal of soil to an approved disposal facility and clearly stated that the Government's site was not such a facility)

Silver State Land LLC v. United States, No. 19-688 C (Aug. 17, 2021) (in suit based on Government's breach of contract to sell land to plaintiff by failing to convey land, plaintiff's depositing of refund check of purchase price and the liquidation of the escrow account did not constitute an election of the restitution remedy over expectation damages)

Westdale Northwest Center, LP v. United States, No. 16-113 C (July 9, 2021) (contract interpretation; tax adjustment provision in lease agreement to which parties agreed, although unambiguous, included an erroneous figure for the tax base; therefore, the lease agreement was a product of mutual mistake, for which contract reformation is the appropriate remedy)

Future Forest LLC v. Sec'y of Agr., No. 2020-2039 (Apr. 15, 2021) (Government did not breach implied duty of good faith and fair dealing by failing to order more than the minimum guaranteed quantity in ID/IQ contract)

7800 Ricchi LLC v. United States, No. 18-1798 C (Jan. 21, 2021) (letter of intent signed by both parties did not constitute an enforceable lease agreement because it was to be followed by the actual lease, which the Government never signed)

Cherokee General Corp. v. United States, No. 18-412 C (Oct. 23, 2020) (in case involving disputed default termination, dismisses claim that wet soils were a differing site condition because contractor presented no evidence regarding either (i) an affirmative representation in the contract concerning soil conditions or (ii) the contractor's inability to anticipate such conditions)

JKB Solutions and Services, LLC v. United States, No. 19-1390 C (Oct. 16, 2020) (in a contract for the services of instructors that contained a "Termination for Convenience" clause and stated the maximum number of courses that could be ordered but was ambiguous as to whether the Government was required to order the maximum, the Government partially, constructively terminated the contract for convenience by ordering fewer than the maximum, entitling the contractor to compensation only for the courses it had provided)

Seneca Sawmill Co. v. United States, No. 16-1001 C (July 2, 2020) (action for Government's alleged breach (by partial termination)of timber sales contract is not barred by either (a) issue preclusion or (b) claim preclusion based on prior litigation in district court because that action involved different issues and the breach claim could not have been brought by the contractor in the district court; Government did not breach implied duty of good faith and fair dealing by conducting environmental assessment that went beyond what was required by district court decision because Government's actions were not directed toward harming the contractor and were contemplated under applicable environmental requirements; contractor did not waive breach claim by continuing to perform on unterminated portion of contract)

Information Systems & Networks Corp. v. United States, Nos. 06-387C & 13-988C (May 26, 2020) (plain language of bilateral settlement agreement operated as an accord and satisfaction precluding contractor's current indirect cost claim for specified years; contractor's Chief Financial Officer had apparent authority to bind contractor to indirect cost rate agreements he signed especially where, for seven years, the contractor failed to raise the issue of his alleged lack of authority)

New England Specialty Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-643 C (May 26, 2020) (denies Government's motion for summary judgment concerning various delay claims by contractor because issues of fact remain concerning, inter alia, the length of delay the contractor can claim and the critical path)

North American Landscaping, Constr. and Dredge Co. v. United States, No. 17-903 C (Apr. 30, 2020) (contract interpretation; unambiguous, plain meaning of provisions concerning payment for amount of material removed during dredging work based on differences in before- and after-soundings precluded plaintiff's claim for additional for re-dredging work required to achieve required depth)

HCIC Enterprises, LLC d/b/a HCI General Contractors v. United States, No. 18-1943 C (Feb. 19, 2020) (contract interpretation; contrary to contractor's contention, contract's access to site provisions did not require Government to permit roof repair contractor to work on more than one roof at a time at federal prison)

Panther Brands, LLC, and Panther Racing, LLC v. United States, No. 16-1157 C (Dec. 17, 2019) (no implied-in-fact contract where none of government officials had actual (or implied actual) authority to commit Government to contract and no evidence that any government official with actual authority had ratified the alleged  agreement)

BGT Holdings, LLC v. United States, No. 18-178 C (Oct. 22, 2019) (contractor not entitled to equitable adjustment for equipment it was required to purchase after Contracting Officer allegedly removed GFE from contract because both Government Property (FAR 52.245) and Changes clauses incorporated in contract required contractor not to follow any directions unless made and signed in writing by Contracting Officer and contractor failed to allege any such written direction had been issued; these same specific contract requirements precluded contractor's arguments concerning waiver and ratification; Government Property clause also specifically absolved Government ffrom liability for contractor's breach of contract claim for decrease in GFE)

Rocky Mountain Helium, LLC v. United States, No. 15-336 C (Oct. 8, 2019) (on remand from CAFC; contract interpretation; Settlement Agreement required BLM to take more than perfunctory steps to provide data concerning amount of helium available for recovery; BLM breached agreement by failing to take adequate steps to provide certain required data), Government's motion for reconsideration denied

Pacific Coast Community Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 17-854 C (Oct. 1, 2019) (contract contains latent ambiguity concerning number of full-time equivalent employee hours that must be provided per contract year and whether replacement of employees is required for absences of less than two weeks, which must be resolved in favor of contractor's interpretation because Government's interpretation was not adopted until months after operation under contrary interpretation and does not give meaning to all contract requirements, including required vacation time in applicable wage determination; but contractor's damages claim must fail because it failed to provide any payroll records showing the actual wages it paid)

Bruhn Newtech, Inc., et al. v. United States, No. 16-783 C (Sep. 24, 2019) (Government's distribution of items did not breach restricted software provision because items at issue were delivered under different contract)

Meridian Engineering Co. v. United States, No. 11-492 C (Sep. 23, 2019) (releases signed by contractor, although broadly worded, did not cover subsequent claim for flood-event damages, which were "too attenuated" from the claims giving rise to the releases to be considered encompassed by them; contractor did not assume risk of flood event (monsoon season) because government-caused delays pushed contractor's work into that season)

Woodies Holdings, L.L.C. v. United States, No. 15-962 C  (June 13, 2019) (denies GSA's defense of unilateral mistake of fact because: (i) GSA bore the risk of the mistake it made in calculating a leased building's size for purposes of tax adjustment clause because it repeatedly ignored information as to actual size, which was readily available to it from multiple sources, absent any misrepresentation on part of plaintiff; and (ii) in view of conflicting testimony, Government did not satisfy its burden of proof in establishing lessor knew or should have known of Government's mistake)

Coastal Park LLC, et al. v. United States, No. 17-422 (May 28, 2019) (where IFB for sale of former Coast Guard housing complex contained clauses (a) disclaiming Government's obligation to maintain property between sale and closing and (b) limiting contractor's damages for failure to close to return of earnest money, court dismisses portions of Complaint seeking damages in excess of that amount in situation where hurricane damaged property between sale and closing and Government canceled contract after refusing fourth extension of closing date requested by contractor)

Kiewit Infrastructure West, Co. v. United States, No. 16-45 C (May 15, 2019) (contract interpretation; denies constructive change claim for excess costs of disposing of waste at designated government waste sites because contractor should have inquired concerning possible environmental impacts under the Clean Water Act)

4DD Holdings, LLC and T4 Data Group, LLC v. United States, No. 15-945 C (May 10, 2019) (Government infringed on plaintiffs' copyrighted software because Government authorized or consented to government contractor's copying of software in contractor's own labs and installing of the software in excess of purchased license; Government "with culpable state of mind" destroyed relevant electronic evidence that it had duty to preserve, which warrants sanctions for spoliation)

Kansas City Power & Light Co. v. United States, No. 15-348 C (May 10, 2019) (contractor's duty-to-defend claim is barred because it accrued when contractor could request a sum certain and knew all the facts fixing the Government's purported liability, which was more than six years before the contractor submitted the claim to the Contracting Officer; contractor's duty-to-indemnify claim is not barred by CDA's limitations period because it accrued only four years prior to submittal to Contracting Officer; rejects Government's argument that contractor had superior bargaining power in negotiating contract with Government because, even though contractor was only utility available to Government, contractor was required by law to provide uniform terms for all similarly situated customers; contractor's recovery in this action for defense and settlement expenses it incurred in prior litigation must be reduced by amounts it received from third party to prevent double recovery where purported assignment of  subrogation claims is invalid under the Anti-Assignment Act because the claims have not been decided and the United States has not recognized the assignment)

BGT Holdings, LLC v. United States, No. 18-178 C (Apr. 5, 2019) (dismisses claims based on Government's failure to provide certain items of GFE because contract provisions specifically permitted the Government to increase, decrease, or substitute GFE without liability)

North American  Landscaping, Construction, and Dredge Co. v. United States, No. 17-903 C (Mar. 15, 2019) (denies contractor's various theories in support of claim for delays to dredging due to barge traffic because solicitation warned there would be periodic delays, actual conditions did not differ from those indicated in solicitation, and contractor failed to fulfill its duty to inquire as to extent of barge traffic; denies contractor's excusable delay claim for unusually severe weather because it was submitted 100 days after the contract was completed, not within 10 days of the beginning of any alleged weather event, as required by the contract; denies contractor's claim for allegedly delayed government completion survey because contractor failed to provide the required minimum 14 days advance notice between its request for a completion survey and the proposed date for the completion of work (and the date for the Government’s completion survey)

Ultimate Concrete, LLC v. United States, No. 14-549 C (Jan. 10, 2019) (denies contractor's constructive change claim for excavating and rebuilding embankment because contract unambiguously required it and contractor's contrary interpretation of contract section was not reasonable and was at odds with other sections of the contract; contractor entitled to summary judgment on defective specifications claim because Government knew survey data provided to contractor was inaccurate and that a number of the inaccuracies were the result of actions by the Government's own work crews and yet the Government withheld more accurate survey data from the contractor)

CKY, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-948 C (Oct. 12, 2018) (given all information made available to bidders prior to award, contractor's interpretation of subgrade specifications was unreasonable; Government was prejudiced by contractor's failure to provide timely notice of differing site conditions claim; Government entitled to summary judgment on its counterclaim for liquidated damages for late completion)

Walsh Construction Co., et al. v. United States, No. 16-845 C (Oct. 3, 2018) (dismisses contractor's claims for: (i) for breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing (because plaintiff's reading of specifications was unreasonable and Government's inspections were of a type to be expected in this contract and were not excessive);  and (ii) Type I differing site condition dewatering claim because (a) contract did not provide affirmative indication of subsurface water conditions; (b) evidence shows actual site conditions should have been foreseeable to contractor)

CB&I AREVA MOX Services, LLC v. United States, Nos. 16-950 C, et al. (July 30, 2018) (amended version of earlier opinion based on Government's motion for partial reconsideration)

Bechtel National, Inc. v. United States, No. 17-657 C (Apr. 3, 2018) (Government did not breach contract by disallowing contractor's defense costs associated with suits by former employees of the company for sexual and racial harassment and discrimination, which were ultimately settled)

Oasis International Waters, Inc. v. United States, No. 10-707 C (Dec. 1, 2017) (denies plaintiff's claims for site conditions and delay because contract did not place any responsibility for site condition or preparation on Government)

Oasis International Waters, Inc. v. United States, No. 10-707 C (Dec. 1, 2017) (originally filed Apr. 7, 2017) (even though Government's interpretation of contract ultimately proved correct and contractor's allegations that it signed two relevant modifications under duress are unsupported, Government's counterclaims in fraud are denied because contractor did not intend to defraud the Government by submitting certified claim, especially because individual who signed certification did not intend to commit fraud and believed in his interpretation of the contract)

Oasis International Waters, Inc. v. United States, No. 10-707 C  (Dec. 1, 2017) (originally filed August 31, 2016) (denies Government's counterclaims involving Special Plea in Fraud, False Claims Act, and anti-fraud provisions of CDA) for alleged double-billing because contract interpretation that differed from the Government's interpretation did not amount to fraudulent intent to deceive and, given the credibility of the witness who actually signed the claim certification, fact that other company officials disagreed with his position is not sufficient to establish fraud or that the claim was submitted in an inflated amount merely as a negotiating tactic)

Zebel, LLC v. United States, No. 16-420 C (Oct. 26, 2017) (pursuant to terms of IFB auction for purchase of real estate, plaintiff forfeited its bid registration deposit when it failed to provide additional money after the Government accepted its bid)

Omran Holding Group, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-446, -447, -448 C (Oct. 20, 2017) (denies plaintiff's claim that Government used wrong exchange rate to pay it because exchange rate used by Government was more favorable to plaintiff than correct rate)

MW Builders, Inc. f/n/a MW Builders of Texas, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-1023 C (Oct. 18, 2017) (contract included latent ambiguity concerning which of the contracting parties was required to sign a line extension agreement with a utility; extrinsic evidence demonstrates parties did not intend for contractor to sign it but instead intended to follow industry practice, which is to have end user sign it; Government's prolonged efforts to convince contractor to sign agreement and Government's delays in signing the agreement breached its duty of good faith and fair dealing to the contractor and unreasonably and compensably delayed the construction project; subcontractor waived pass through claims by signing general release waivers each time it received a progress payment from the prime; insufficient evidence to conclude that by using certain estimated rather than actual costs in claim (which ultimately resulted in claim amount being overstated) contractor acted with specific intent to defraud Government in contravention of anti-fraud provision of CDA  or the Special Plea in Fraud Statute (28 U.S.C. 2514) or the False Claims Act), contractor's motion for reconsideration of portion of judgment concerning subcontractor's release of claims is denied because release was unconditional and court lacks jurisdiction to reform agreement between prime and sub

Baldi Bros., Inc. v. United States, No. 15-1300 C (Sep. 13, 2017) (under FAR 14.407-4(b)(2)(ii), contractor not entitled to recover on claim to modify contract to correct alleged mistake in bid because corrected bid would exceed the next lowest acceptable bid)

Stromness MPO, LLC v. United States, No. 14-711 C (Sep. 8, 2017) (contract interpretation; Postal Service did not breach lease by constructing demising wall that prevented access to certain areas in leased premises by those in other areas of building)

Magnus Pacific Corp. v. United States, No. 13-859 C (Aug. 31, 2017) (in fixed-price contract for levee restoration work, solicitation documents misled contractor as to amount of fill that would have to be imported for use on the project)

DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-1034 C (Aug. 15, 2017) (contract unambiguously precluded Government from asserting prior material breach as an affirmative defense to plaintiff's claims)

RDA Construction Corp. v. United States, No 11-555 C (July 27, 2017) (contractor's superior knowledge argument fails because even though Government did not provide relevant information to the contractor concerning wharf's severe load restrictions, the visible condition of the wharf at the time of prebid inspections should have prompted the contractor to seek additional information; contractor not entitled to recovery for Type 1 differing site condition because solicitation did not affirmatively indicate that the wharf's condition would be different from what it turned out to be; contractor not entitled to recover for alleged misrepresentation of wharf's load bearing capacity because there was no such affirmative misrepresentation in solicitation; cardinal change theory fails because evidence shows that, before beginning work, contractor knew of the condition of which it ultimately complained; Government did not violate implied duty of good faith and fair dealing in any of numerous situations complained of by contractor; termination for default was justified and, therefore, Government entitled to assess liquidated damages; denies Government's counterclaim under CDA’s anti-fraud provision, 41 U.S.C. § 7103(c)(2), because contractor's claim was not baseless, indefensibly inflated, or premised on an affirmative misrepresentation of fact; Government's other counterclaims based on various fraud statutes fail for similar reasons), affirmed by CAFC

Horn & Assocs. v. United States, No. 8-415 C  (May 25, 2017) (Viewing work on contract for performance of recovery audits as a whole, contractor's performance was severely impeded, and defendant’s conduct, including a lack of cooperation, prevented contractor from completing totality of the contract requirements and constituted breach by Government of duty of good faith and fair dealing)

Gazpromneft-Aero Kyrgystan LLC v. United States, No. 15-1443 C (May 9, 2017) (denies claim for reimbursement of back taxes assessed by Kyrgyz Republic because contractor failed to give timely notice of assessment pursuant to requirement of FAR 52.229-6(j), which prejudiced DoD's ability to address issue)

Idaho Stage LLC v. United States, No. 16-548 C (May 2, 2017) (plain meaning of contract as a whole favors contractor's interpretation and, even if contract is ambiguous, ambiguity is latent and construed against the Government as the drafter)

Senate Builders and Construction Managers, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-1196 C (Apr. 29, 2017) (denies contractor's claim for recovery of costs of importing backfill material because all the contractor's theories of recovery rely on an unreasonable interpretation of the Government's answer to one of the questions included as an amendment to the solicitation)

Tidewater Contractors, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-500 C (Mar. 30, 2017) (summary judgment dismissing breach of contract claim because no material factual dispute concerning propriety of Government's testing and rejection of contractor's concrete density core samples; FHWA Manual established trade practice applicable to contractual issues but could not be used to conflict with contract terms)

CanPro Investments, Ltd. v. United States, No. 16-268 C (Jan. 26, 2017) (dismisses counts of complaint based on superior knowledge and impossibility of performance and entitlement to rescission of lease because they were not first presented to Contracting Officer; contractor failed to allege plausible grounds for claims of mutual mistake, misrepresentation, and concealment,  impracticability of performance or frustration of purpose; contractor has pled plausible breach-of-contract claim based on the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing for conduct occurring after execution of the lease), Government's motion for reconsideration denied

First Crystal Park Associates Limited Partnership v. United States, No. 15-315 C (Jan. 24, 2017) (where lease option contemplated renewal of entire leased space, Government's alleged attempt to renew only portion of space was not effective option exercise; Government official who allegedly reached oral agreement with plaintiff to exercise option for portion of space lacked authority to modify lease or create new one; alleged verbal agreement was not binding because it was not reduced to writing as parties apparently contemplated)

RQ Squared, LLC v. United States, No. 12-527 C (Jan. 3, 2017) (after limited discovery, grants Government's renewed motion for summary judgment and dismisses plaintiff's suit for breach of alleged implied-in-fact contract under which Postal Service was allegedly to protect plaintiff's proprietary information from disclosure and use because: (i) the court could not discern from plaintiff's pleadings and submissions exactly what proprietary information the Postal Service allegedly misappropriated; (ii) the Postal Service was using the disputed technology before plaintiff allegedly disclosed it to the Postal Service; and (iii) UPS developed disputed technology independently without unauthorized disclosure from the Postal Service)

Meridian Engineering Co. v. United States, No. 11-492 C (Dec. 30, 2016) (because Government's actions, including suspending the work, were covered by Suspension of Work and Changes clauses, contractor is entitled to equitable adjustment, not breach damages)

Financial & Realty Services, LLC v. United States, No. 15-1532 C (Nov. 21, 2016) (plaintiff's failure to provide required project manager to perform contract services for period of time after its original project manager resigned was not excused by time required for Government to screen new candidate contractor offered to fill vacant position)

Certified Construction Co. of Kentucky, LLC v. United States, No. 15-1049 C  (Oct. 31, 2016) (contract interpretation; disputed contracts were requirements contracts)

Pioneer Reserve, LLC v. United States, No. 14-376 C (Sep. 26, 2016) (although plaintiff established breach by Government, it failed to prove damages)

Tabetha Jennings v. United States, No. 14-132 C (May 26, 2016) (boilerplate clauses in standard Postal Service daily mail transportation services contracts likely are not supported by consideration and unenforceable)

Evie's Catering, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-352 C (May 17, 2016) (amount stated in task order to supply meals was, unambiguously, only an estimate and was not a guaranteed payment)

Northwest Title Agency, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-248 C (Mar. 25, 2016) (dismisses breach-of-contract action based on allegedly improper disallowance of closing fees because the contract unambiguously prohibited such fees in the situation involved in this dispute)

Ameriserv Trust and Financial Services Co. v. United States, No. 141161 C (Mar. 17, 2016) (Government breaches express warranties in a subordination agreement)

Nova Group/Tutor-Saliba, a Joint Venture v. United States, No. 15-885 C (Mar. 17, 2016) (refuses to dismiss suit for plaintiff's alleged failure to comply with the 20-day written notice requirement of alleged constructive changes in a construction contract because the contractor plausibly alleged the Government had actual knowledge of the facts giving rise to the changes claim)

SUFI Network Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-453 C (Dec. 7, 2015) (contractor not entitled to recover overhead and profit on its attorneys' fees; contractor not allowed, especially so late in proceedings and without first presenting claim to Contracting Officer, to change its claim for attorneys' fees from lodestar method to much larger one based on alleged contingent fee agreement contractor had not provided to court)

Horn & Assocs. v. United States, No. 08-415 C (Oct. 31, 2015) (numerous misstatements and inaccuracies in claim were attributable to (i) difficulties  caused by Government during performance and (ii) unusual nature of contingent fee auditing contract, not by fraud or any intent to deceive Government)

DMS Imaging, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-204 C (Oct. 27, 2015) (after prior decision finding Government liable for breach of lease agreement, court finds plaintiff entitled to quantum of damages specifically established in lease agreement, e.g., for unpaid rent amounts, charges for late payments, and attorney's fees)

Weston/Bean Joint Venture v. United States, Nos. 11-31 C, 11-360 C (Sep. 11, 2015) (principles of contract interpretation; channel dredging contract was not limited to removal of "sediment" but required dredging of all material (except massive "massive, monolithic in situ rock") required to reach depth of 15 feet)

Meridian Engineering Co. v. United States, No. 11-492 C (July 22, 2015) (contractor not entitled to costs of protecting workers from contamination at site because Government did not misrepresent site conditions or agree to pay for such costs; claim based on dewatering requirements and sewer conditions did not meet requirements for either Type I or Type II Differing Site Condition and was covered by an accord and satisfaction; accord and satisfaction also bars contractor's claims for flood events; Government's punchlist was not unreasonable; Government did not breach contract by failing to reimburse contractor for costs of preparing VECP)

Jacintoport International LLC v. United States, No. 14-541 C (May 20, 2015) (denies cross motions for summary judgment after finding contract provision concerning scope of required fumigation services latently ambiguous; grants Government's motion for summary judgment as to patently ambiguous payment provision concerning which contractor failed to inquire prior to bidding)

Old Veteran Construction, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-807 C (May 19, 2015) (Summary judgment in favor of Government denying Type I Differing Site Conditions claim because plaintiff failed to prove conditions present at work site differed materially from those indicated in contract documents)

The Meyer Group, Ltd. v. United States, No. 12-488 C (Apr. 30, 2015) (Government liability for breach of exclusive, commercial real estate brokerage agreement)

Northrop Grumman Computing Systems, Inc. v. United States, No. 07-613 C (Apr. 6, 2015) (contractor not entitled to any expectation damages as a result of Government's decision not to exercise any options beyond first year of delivery order)

Zafer Taahhut Insaat Ve Ticaret, A.S. v. United States, No. 13-888 C (Apr. 3,  2015) (under fixed-price contract that specifically made contractor responsible for transportation costs, contractor not entitled to extra storage and transportation costs caused by Pakistani government's decision to close border, which restricted contractor's access to construction site in Afghanistan), affirmed by CAFC.

Woodies Holdings, LLC v. United States, No. 12-59 C (Feb. 10, 2015) (plaintiff established it had timely submitted (by certified mail) notice required for reimbursement of real estate tax payments, and Government's admissions that it had often mishandled such submissions in the past outweighed fact that plaintiff had not received requested return receipt)

Kenney Orthopedic, LLC v. United States, No. (Oct. 31, 2014) (summary judgment for Government, which complied with all requirements of settlement agreement)

Lake Charles XXV, LLC v. United States, No. 09-363 C (Oct. 15, 2014) (plaintiff did not provide required notice within 10 days of start of alleged delays, which are, therefore, unexcused and valid basis for default termination, especially where plaintiff did not establish bad faith on part of Government)

JMR Construction Corp. v. United States, No. 11-187 C (July 14, 2014) (calculation of field office overhead and home office overhead (using Eichleay) in delay damages claims under construction contract)

Cardiosom, L.L.C. v. United States, No. 08-533 C (June 30, 2014) (Government breached agreement by terminating it because contract did not shift the risk of termination caused by change in statute to contractor)

Liquidating Trustee Ester Du Val of KI Liquidation, Inc. v. United States, No. 06-465 C (June 11, 2014) (upholds default termination where contractor abandoned job; denies claim for extra geotechnical work because contract required work in question; contractor entitled to extra costs for construction of secure part of embassy; grants Government's counterclaim in fraud because contractor's payment certification contained statement it knew was false)

Griffin & Griffin Exploration, LLC, et al. v. United States, No. 10-638 L (May 27, 2014) (breach of contract to convey a valid leasehold interest)

DMS Imaging, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-204 C (Apr. 30, 2014) (Government liable for damages to leased unit under "Risk of Loss" clause in unsigned lease agreement attached to and incorporated in basic contract)

Agility Defense & Government Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-380 C (Mar. 19, 2014) (contractor's changes claims precluded by bilateral modification that expressly required contractor to perform work beyond original completion date at no additional cost as consideration for extending delivery schedule to avoid default termination)

Weston/Bean Joint Venture v. United States, Nos. 11-31 C, 11-360 C (Mar. 14, 2014) (denies cross motions for summary judgment because of questions of fact concerning Differing Site Conditions claim)

Woodies Holdings, LLC v. United States, No. 12-59 C (Mar. 13, 2014) (interpretation of parties' agreement under Tax Adjustment clause)

Ensley, Inc. v. United States, No. (Feb. 25, 2014) (lessor was responsible for unrepaired roof leaks in building leased to Postal Service and Postal Service was entitled to replace roof and set off costs against rent otherwise due lessor and against payments otherwise due for real estate taxes)

AEY, Inc. v. United States, No.  10-733 C (Jan. 30, 2014) (denies cross motions for summary judgment on applicability of Forfeiture Statute to untainted invoices submitted under delivery orders when earlier invoices submitted under different delivery orders (but same contract) were tainted by fraud because of issues as to whether Government waived its rights under Forfeiture statute)

K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. United States, No. 05-1054 (Jan. 28, 2014) (dismisses plaintiff's constructive change claims because it failed to provide written notice to the Government of the alleged changes as required by FAR 52.242-14)

Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development v. United States, No. 07-628 C (Jan. 7, 2014) (denies government motion for summary judgment because genuine issue of material fact exist as to plaintiff's allegations of superior knowledge, mutual mistake, and negligent estimates)

 

Costs; Cost Accounting Standards

CB&I AREVA MOX Services, LLC v. United States, Nos. 16-950 C, et al. (Nov. 9, 2018) (grants contractor's motion for partial summary judgment because agency failed to give contractor proper notice of intent to disallow costs under 48 C.F.R. 942.803(a)(2))

United Launch Services, LLC, et al. v. United States, No. 12-380 C (Sep. 12, 2018) (denies contractor's motion for summary judgment that Government had breached contract for rocket launch services by failing to honor agreements to pay for certain deferred hardware production costs and deferred  support costs, the court finding that there were genuine issues of fact concerning whether the accounting practices the contractor used in deferring the costs complied with applicable GAAP principles, since, if they did not comply, any subsequent agreement to pay for the costs would be unenforceable) 

United States Enrichment Corp. v. United States, No. 14-58 C (Jan. 16, 2018) (for purposes of calculating segment-closing adjustment for pension costs under CAS 413, contractor must use data from the earliest date for which it has complete data regarding the Government's contributions to the pension obligations for past and present plan participants; post-retirement health and welfare benefits (PRBs) mandated only until the expiration of collective bargaining agreement that established them are not vested or integral to the underlying pension plan, and, therefore are not to be included in a segment- closing adjustment, except for special, continued PRBs guaranteed to certain eligible retirees by the Privatization Act; contractor not entitled to additional PRB costs under FAR cost principles because Government's obligation under these principles ended with end of contract)

Agility Defense & Government Services, Inc. v. United States, Nos. 13-55 C, 13-97 C (Oct. 18, 2017) (on remand from CAFC, determines contractor has proved, and is entitled to, its actual costs resulting from extra work attributable to Government's negligent estimate of work under requirements contract)

InterImage, Inc. v. United States, Nos. 15-582 C & 16-1300 C (July 18, 2017) (where both basic CPFF contract and all delivery orders issued under it contained limitations of funding provisions, limitations provisions in individual delivery orders governed how much contractor was entitled to recover of both costs and fees in final invoice at contract closeout, regardless that the contractor had not exceeded the overall funding limit in the base contract)

Quimba Software, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-142 C (June 26, 2017) (deferred compensation costs were allowable under exception to 26 C.F.R. § 1.404(b)-1T because deferral was "unintended, unavoidable, and unanticipated")

Bay County, Florida v. United States, No. 11-157 C (Feb. 27, 2014) (determination of late payment fees and Prompt Payment Act and CDA interest due on increased rates for water and sewer service charged to Government by county)

Default and Convenience Terminations; Lapsed Purchase Orders; Liquidated Damages; Agency Performance Evaluations

 

ASG Solutions Corp., dba American Systems Group v. United States, No. 23-1029 (Mar. 29, 2024) (contract interpretation: reading all provisions together, service contract task order required contractor to assemble a team of 20 qualified professionals at a fixed monthly rate as described in its proposal and was not an illegal personal services contract because the contractor maintained control over its team member employees even though the Government reviewed resumes and approved hires; failure of contractor to provide the required fully staffed team was grounds for default termination despite contractor's argument that had not failed to perform the actual requirements of any assignment; Contracting Officer considered factors in FAR 49.402-3(f) prior to termination)  

JKB Solutions and Services, LLC v. United States, No. 19-390 (Mar. 15, 2024) (cross motions for summary judgment on liability for breach of contract for alleged failure to order required number of instructional courses; contract to provide all instructors, transportation, supervision, and non-personal services necessary to perform instructor services is a commercial items contract because it is on SF 1449 for commercial items, explicitly incorporates the standard clauses for commercial items, is for generic instructional services rather than services unique to the Government, and resulted from market research that determined commercial services for this work were available, especially where the contractor failed to object to that designation prior to award; because the contract is a commercial item contract, the termination clause found in FAR 52.212-4 is applicable, and the Government may use the termination for convenience clause at FAR 52.212-4(l) to support its constructive termination defense; even if FAR 52.212-4 were not applicable, the normal fixed-price convenience termination clause (FAR 52.249-2) would be incorporated via the Christian doctrine; material issues of fact remain whether the Government breached the contract and, if so, whether it acted in bad faith or abused its discretion, which would render the constructive termination for convenience doctrine inapplicable)

E & I Global Energy Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-244C (Oct. 26, 2023) (upholds termination for default; contractor admitted it did not attempt to find replacement subcontractors for those who allegedly delayed the work; problems with subcontractors existed before contract entered into and no reasonable expectation they would disappear after award, so problems were foreseeable; contractor waived alleged excuse that contract required him to raise within 10 days but had not been raised for more than 2,000 days; alleged unusually severe weather was only claimed to have cut short site inspection, not to have delayed progress during contract performance)

Manitou Island Transit, LLC v. United States, No. 21-953 (Oct. 26, 2023) (dismisses contractor's claim of detrimental reliance because it is essentially one for promissory estoppel under an implied in law contract theory over which court lacks jurisdiction; contractor entitled to summary judgment that National Park Service breached contractual obligation to ensure that concession contractor had access to the docks during the portion of the year that contractor was obligated to provide ferry services, which meant the Government was responsible for upkeep to maintain the dock area in useable condition)

Vanquish Worldwide, LLC v. United States, Nos. 17-96 C et al.(Mar. 23, 2023) (summary judgment rejecting plaintiff's claims that Government acted in bad faith in (i) declining to exercise second year option (when Government's needs declined and plaintiff had the lowest ratings and highest prices of the contractors performing this work), (ii) terminating for cause 12 shipments the contractor had declared were "lost," and (iii) issuing negative CPAR; contractor failed to present evidence in support of its contention that the Government had failed to follow correct procedures in making deductions from payments otherwise due contractor)

Schneider Electric Buildings Americas, Inc. v. United States, No. 21-788 (Jan. 18, 2023) (overturns default termination based on failure to make progress so as to endanger performance because the Government's research efforts at the facility (which the failure to make progress allegedly hindered) were not among the performance goals stated in the contract, i.e., the basis for the termination lacked a close nexus to a clear violation of contract terms; Government's unilateral withholding of progress payments breached contract because no contract provision authorized it for the reasons cited by the Government to justify it)

27-35 Jackson Ave., LLC v. United States, No. 16-947 (Oct. 12, 2022) (upholds Government's termination of lease as untenantable (after water leak interrupted operations and exposed important documents to water damage) where lease included an express agreement by the parties indicating that the untenantability will be "determined by the Government"; lease did not require the Government to utilize or memorialize objective standard for determining whether premises were tenantable following damage; Government's determination did not breach implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing)

Servant Health, LLC, et al. v. United States, Nos. 21-1373 C, et al. (Aug. 5, 2022) (upholds terminations for default of suppliers who promised to provide specific PPE they had on hand, but did not)

American Medical Equipment, Inc. v. United States, No. 21-1553 C (June 30, 2022) (upholds termination for default; contractor failed to deliver any of the contract products (nitrile gloves) by the non-extendable contractually-required date (which had been repeatedly emphasized and to which the contractor had repeatedly committed itself prior to award) and, in fact, notified the Government prior to the required delivery date that the contractor would not meet it (which constituted anticipatory repudiation); contractor cannot avail itself of allegedly excusable delay caused by COVID outbreak in China delaying shipments of contractually required gloves to United States because solicitation had called for supply of "on-hand (or already in existence)" gloves and because contractor's offer had stated gloves would be delivered by Federal Express, not by shipping in vessels)

Marine Industrial Constr., LLC v. United States, No. 15-1189 (Feb. 17, 2022) (Government waived plaintiff's failure to comply with notice provisions for certain of its delay and differing site conditions claims by failing to raise notice as a defense when denying those claims; contractor provided insufficient evidence to support its delay claim for unusually severe weather; different site conditions claim for dredging clay is denied because contract did not affirmatively represent contractor would not encounter clay in its dredging operations (and in fact noted 7% clay might be encountered) and presence of clay would be reasonably foreseeable to experienced contractor; cross motions for summary judgment on claim of differing site condition based on excessive debris denied because neither party addressed the applicable standard, i.e., how a "reasonable and prudent" contractor would have proceeded in this situation; Government withheld superior knowledge concerning minimum pipe size to complete project, and contractor was misled as a result; Government did not withhold superior knowledge concerning log traffic; Government withheld superior knowledge concerning sunken debris)

Bannum, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-506 C (Jan. 8, 2021) (denies elements of contractor's settlement proposal claim after Government terminated its contract for convenience after a successful protest and corrective action: Government did not "authorize" incurrence of bid and proposal costs under the second element of FAR 31.205-32 because contractor failed to supply required requested information during corrective action and therefore was found ineligible for award; bid protest costs are not recoverable as part of termination settlement; contractor failed to provide evidence that it actually incurred claimed initial and preparatory costs for performing contract; allegations of bad faith by agency officials in support of claim for lost profits are unsupported by evidence)

ACLR, LLC v. United States, No. 15-767 C (Apr. 6, 2020) (Government's actions in terminating audits performed by contractor because of questions concerning adequacy of audits were constructive terminations for convenience rather than breaches under contract clause (FAR 52.212-4(1)) allowing Government to terminate all or any part of contract for its sole convenience; no jurisdiction over portion of plaintiff's sales tax audit claim that was not previously submitted to Contracting Officer for decision)

Vanquish Worldwide, LLC v. United States, Nos. 17-96 C, et al. (Mar. 6, 2020) (claims by SDVOSB regarding trucking services contracts in Afghanistan; rejects Government's jurisdictional argument that CDA breach of contract claims concerning failure to award award task orders must be dismissed due to FASA's limits on protests of such awards; IDIQ contract's minimum order provision did not shield agency from claim involving separate obligations under contract regarding fairness in assigning task orders among multiple contractors; for purposes of surviving Government's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, contractor may assert breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing "on information and belief" when facts are peculiarly within the possession and control of the defendant, or where the belief is based on factual information that makes the inference of culpability plausible; despite high standard of proof required, court refuses to dismiss contractor's claim that Government refused to exercise option in bad faith before the parties have conducted discovery; dismisses contractor's claims for nonpayment of demurrage because: (i) the contract specifically disclaimed Government's responsibility for delays caused by non-U.S. Government security forces, specifically those of Afghan government, even though the contractor was required to use them; and (ii) Government's interpretation of demurrage provisions is reasonable and harmonizes various clauses on the subject whereas contractor's does not)

Virginia Electric and Power Co. d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia v. United States, No. 17-464 C (Jan. 28, 2020) (denies claim for electrical system upgrade costs that may be incurred by contractor following convenience termination because they are unconnected to the work performed under the terminated contract, especially where the contractor failed to prove that the termination resulted in a legal obligation under state law for the contractor to upgrade the system)

Brian Bowles v. United States, No. 14-198 (Aug. 8, 2019) (plaintiff's refusal to perform further on contract was excused by multiple instances of abuse he suffered from government employees, culminating in a false allegation that he had assaulted his government supervisor; therefore, subsequent termination for default was made in bad faith and is converted to termination for convenience)

Alutiiq Manufacturing Contractors, LLC v. United States, No. 15-881 C (June 27, 2019) (converts default termination to termination for convenience because agency failed to consider several required factors in FAR 49.402-3(f)(1)-(7) prior to terminating and relied instead on analysis of government official who had history of hostility toward contractor and whose own analysis was deficient)

State Corps v. United States, No. 14-1121 C (Feb. 15, 2019) (upholds default termination because contractor failed to complete project by completion date specified in contract; Government did not waive default because it clearly and repeatedly informed contractor after completion date had passed that the contractor was in default, that the Government was considering terminating for default, and that the Government intended to assess liquidated damages; Government's refusal to pay seventh invoice was not an excuse for default because payment was not due until two months after required completion date had passed; likewise changes in badging procedures did not excuse default because they did not occur until after contract completion date had passed)

Vanquish Worldwide, LLC v. United States, Nos. 17-96 C, 18-1043 C (Oct. 18, 2018) (Government did not provide warranty for performance of Afghan Public Protection Force and, in any event, no evidence contractor employed that entity on defaulted contracts; contractor not liable on Government's claim for lost cargo because Government failed to comply with applicable Defense Transportation Regulation requirements establishing time limits for notifying contractor of missing cargo items)

Philip Emiabata d/b/a Philema Brothers v. United States, No. 17-447 C (Aug. 29, 2018) (upholds default termination because contractor failed to provide proof of insurance and official motor vehicle driving record as required by contract and provided erroneous information concerning reckless driving conviction on security clearance application form)

K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. United States, No. 05-914C (Apr. 18, 2017) (denies plaintiff's motion to amend its Complaint to include appeal of deemed denial of claim for convenience termination costs because that claim, having been submitted to the Contracting Officer more than six years after it accrued, was untimely; contractor abandoned certain claims and did not establish excusable delay because the Government's review of its drawings complied with the contractual requirements; contractor failed to establish any government-caused delays affected critical path of performance; Government established entitlement to liquidated damages; plaintiff failed to establish any affirmative defenses to assessment of liquidated damages)

Boarhog LLC v. United States, No. 16-678 C (Nov. 14, 2016) (agency's convenience termination of contract as part of corrective action in response to agency-level bid protest did not constitute a breach, and, even if it did, contractor cannot show any compensable damages because termination occurred before it performed any work or incurred any costs, especially when, as a result of contractor's protest at court, agency had subsequently taken additional corrective action and awarded it a second contract that was identical to the original award)

Securiforce International America, LLC v. United States, No. 12-759 C (Apr. 12, 2016--corrected opinion) (partial termination for convenience improper because Contracting Officer testified she did not exercise her own independent judgment in ordering it, but contractor did not establish that the invalid termination for convenience or any other alleged government actions or breaches excused its subsequent failure to perform or invalidated the subsequent default termination)

White Buffalo Construction, Inc. v. United States, Nos. 99-961, et al. (Aug. 3, 2015) (disposition in accordance with Fed. Cir. decision on appeal)

Fort Howard Senior Housing Assocs., LLC v. United States, No. 10-553 C (May 29, 2015) (upholds default termination of lease for contractor's unexcused failure to construct required Community Based Outpatient Clinic; Government did not breach duty to cooperate or any implied warranties by requiring contractor to comply with state and local land use and construction requirements and state and local taxes, or by failing to assist contractor to resolve issues that arose out of contractor's obligations to comply with local zoning laws; contractor not entitled to reformation due to mutual mistake; contract not impossible to perform)

H. J. Lyness Construction, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-129 C (May 15, 2015) (determination of multiple issues relating to termination settlement costs recoverable by contractor following convenience termination, including finding that contractor has not met requirements for recovering unabsorbed overhead)

E&E Enterprises Global, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-423 C (Feb. 27, 2015) (Government's motion to dismiss portions of Complaint partially granted; Government's duty of good faith and fair dealing applies to ID/IQ contracts)

Lake Charles XXV, LLC v. United States, No. 09-363 C (Oct. 15, 2014) (plaintiff did not provide required notice within 10 days of start of alleged delays, which are, therefore, unexcused and valid basis for default termination, especially where plaintiff did not establish bad faith on part of Government)

Trust Title Co. v. United States, No. (Sep. 10, 2014) (upholds default terminations based on contractor's failure to comply with contractor's failures to comply with contract's timing requirements for real estate closings but denies Government's claim for excess reprocurement costs because set of IDIQ contracts awarded to replace defaulted contracts were dissimilar to contracts at issue)

Liquidating Trustee Ester Du Val of KI Liquidation, Inc. v. United States, No. 06-465 C (June 11, 2014) (upholds default termination where contractor abandoned job; denies claim for extra geotechnical work because contract required work in question; contractor entitled to extra costs for construction of secure part of embassy; grants Government's counterclaim in fraud because contractor's payment certification contained statement it knew was false) 

Allen Engineering Contractor, Inc. v. United States, No. 13-684 C (Mar. 27, 2014) (grants government motion to dismiss challenge to default termination; rejects contractor's excuses for failure to submit valid performance and payment bonds)

K-CON Building Systems, Inc. v. United States, No. 05-914 C (Feb. 26, 2014) (Coast Guard's default termination of order under FSS contract is invalid because agency did not first comply with requirement to submit contractor's allegations of excusable delay to GSA)

Equal Access to Justice Act; Attorneys' Fees; Interest; Prompt Payment

The Tolliver Group, Inc. v. United States, No. 17-1763 C (Jan. 22, 2020) (in fixed-price, level-of-effort contract, under Spearin doctrine, contractor is entitled to  equitable adjustment for a portion of the legal fees it incurred in successful defense of qui tam suit resulting from Government's initial failure to provide technical data package, which breached its implied warranty that satisfactory performance would result from adherence to contract specifications; qui tam action is not a third party claim beyond scope of Spearin doctrine because it is brought on behalf of Government, which is real party in interest), vacated by CAFC

Stromness MPO, LLC v. United States, No. 14-711 C (Oct. 15, 2018) (denies EAJA application because "defendant's position throughout the entirety of the . . . case, although not 100 percent correct, was substantially justified")

The Meyer Group, Ltd. v. United States, No. 12-488 C (Dec. 19, 2016) (denies EAJA application because: (i) Government's position in litigation was substantially justified given the lack of precedent on unusual issue; and (ii) special circumstances render EAJA award unjust)

SUFI Network Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-804 C (Oct. 19, 2016) (plaintiff entitled to its attorney fees at full law firm rates because its position was substantially justified and it proved special circumstances entitling it to upward adjustment of statutory cap on hourly rates)

Park Properties Associates, L.P., et al., v. United States, No. 04-1757 C (Apr. 22, 2015) (denies application for EAJA fees because relevant case law precedent was (and to some extent remains) unsettled)

Ulysses, Inc. v. United States, No. 06-436 C (Aug. 8, 2014) (awards EAJA attorneys' fees and costs because Government's positions, including its contentions that the contractor had submitted false claims or misrepresentations, were not substantially justified)

 

Standard Contract; Spent Nuclear Fuel

 

Boston Edison Co., et al. v. United States, No. 20-529 C (Feb. 5, 2021) (denies Government's motion to dismiss it attempts to relitigate issues of plaintiffs' standing and alleged failure to state a cognizable claim already decided in plaintiff's favor in prior decisions by the court)

Georgia Power Co. and Alabama Power Co. v. United States, Nos. 14-167 C , -168 C (July 3, 2019) (summary judgment o only for undisputed part of breach of contract claim)

Georgia Power Co. and Alabama Power Co.  v. United States, Nos. 14-167 C, -168 C (July 3, 2019) (denies plaintiffs' and defendant's motions for partial summary judgment)

Duke Energy Progress, Inc. and Duke Energy Florida, Inc. v. Unites States, No. 18-891 C (Jan. 7, 2019) (denies Government's motion to dismiss; collateral estoppel not applicable here because plaintiff's Complaint does not present issues of law and fact identical to those litigated in the prior related proceeding)

Entergy Nuclear Palisades, LLC v. United States, No.12-641 C (Oct. 6, 2016) (contractor entitled to recover costs related to replacing the rack in the spent fuel pool; the dry fuel storage loading; the review of the track alley; and additional security costs)

Entergy Gulf States, et al. v. United States, No. 2625 C (Sep. 21, 2016) (awards costs for preparation, packaging, and loading of spent nuclear fuel)

Entergy Gulf States, et al. v. United States, No. 03-2625 C (Apr. 14, 2016)  (partial breach of contract; damages; causation; cask loading costs; cask drop analysis; fuel handling building modification costs; payroll loaders; materials loaders; NRC fees; allegedly unsupported transactions)

Yankee Atomic Electric Co., et al. v. United States, Nos. 13-584, -585, -586 (Apr. 7, 2016) (breach damages, including property transfer costs and legal and tax expenses)

 

Miller Act; Bonds; Equitable Subrogation; Anti-Assignment; Third Party Beneficiaries

Capitol Indemnity Corp. v. United States, No. 18-916 (Oct. 4, 2022) (remaining issues after prior decision dismissing all but one of plaintiff/surety's claims for progress payments; plaintiff did not take steps necessary to trigger its right to equitable subrogation on contractor's ninth progress payment request; surety cannot recover under theory of equitable subrogation for costs of replacing defective gym floor installed by contractor)

Constructora Guzman, S.A. v. United States, No. 19-498 (Sep. 7, 2022) (subcontractor failed to establish it was third party beneficiary of government contract for lack of evidence that Government intended to confer a direct benefit on subcontractor by assuming responsibility to pay the subcontractor)

Capitol Indemnity Corp. v. United States, No. 18-916 (Feb. 21, 2020) (surety's equitable subrogation rights were not triggered as to most progress payments made by Government because surety had not asserted its surety rights and contractor was still working with the Government to resolve its problems with contract performance so the Government did not have required knowledge of the default under the bonds)

Fox Logistics and Construction Co. v. United States, No. 18-1395 C (Sep. 25, 2019) (stays case third party beneficiary claim pending limited discovery on the issue of jurisdiction)

The Hanover Insurance Co. v. United States, No. 16-999 C (Aug. 24, 2017) (surety's letter to Government adequately notified it of contractor's default of bond agreement, triggering surety's rights of equitable subrogation)

Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, et al. v. United States, No. 14-84 C (Nov. 19, 2014) (general liability insurer is not equitable subrogee who can sue on behalf of government contractor)

G4S Technology LLC v. United States, No. 12-8 C (Feb. 11, 2014) (subcontractor/vendor failed to establish it was intended third party beneficiary of loan and security agreement between Government and company that was to construct wireless broadband network)

 

Procedure; Discovery; Privilege; Evidence; Sanctions; Consolidation; Transfer; Stays; Motions for Reconsideration

 

Oxford Federal, LLC v. United States, No. 23-288 (Jan. 25, 2024) (over Government's objections, grants plaintiff's motion to amend its Complaint filed after oral arguments on the Government's motion to dismiss the original Complaint because there was not undue delay and the amendments would not be futile because it was possible they would survive another motion to dismiss)

Advance Business Capital, LLC v. United States, No. 21-1786 (Oct. 18, 2023) (documents inadvertently provided to plaintiff during discovery originally sent by USPS' in-house attorney to other government attorneys and officials are privileged and thus subject to the clawback provisions of the Protective Order and Stipulated Clawback Agreement and FRE 502(d) Order entered in this case as well as Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims)

ACLR, LLC v. United States, No. 15-767 C (Nov. 2, 2022) (grants Government's motion for summary judgment that plaintiff's is not a "standard record keeping system" as required in FAR 52.212-4(l) for purposes of calculating amount of termination for convenience recovery) 

David Boland, Inc. v. United States, No. 17-166 C (Aug. 12, 2022) (denies cross-motions for summary judgment as to costs of replacing allegedly defective work because of factual disputes as to whether test for economic waste is met)

Spectre Corp. v. United States, No. 16-932 (July 26, 2022) (decides cross motions to exclude various proffers of layperson and expert testimony with analysis of standards that apply to admissibility of each)

United Communities, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1220 C (July 15, 2022) (denies motion for extension of time to file appeal of earlier decision to CAFC because late appeal was due solely to mistake by appellant's attorney which did not amount to either excusable neglect or good cause under FRAP 4(a)(5)(A))

Advanced Powder Solutions, Inc. v. United States, No. 20-137 C (July 13, 2022) (denies plaintiff's motion to compel discovery after plaintiff's counsel conceded it believed the Government's representation that it had already provided all responsive documents; refuses to sanction the Government for spoliation because (i) the request for sanctions was made within a brief and not as a motion as required by the rules, (ii) the plaintiff did not cite to any requirement for the Government to retain the records during litigation, (iii) the plaintiff failed to prove the records were destroyed with a culpable state of mind, (iv) the records were originally prepared by the contractor, and it had not retained them either, and (v) the plaintiff failed to establish the missing records would have proved its case)

BES Design/Build, LLC v. United States, No. 20-1834 (Jan. 11, 2021) (grants Government's motion to transfer case for consolidation with pending appeals at CBCA because: (i) both actions involve the same contract and share some similar issues; (ii) plaintiff appealed first to the CBCA; (iii) there are overlaps in the witnesses who will testify and subjects of their testimony; and (iv) the transfer will avoid duplication of effort)

Kudu Limited II, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-cv-118 (May 24, 2021) (partially grants Government's motion to file amended answer because plaintiff could not establish 8-month delay in filing affirmative defenses caused undue delay or prejudiced plaintiff; defendant's motion to amend to assert affirmative defense of failure to mitigate damages is futile where the plaintiff is not seeking monetary damages (but only termination of a lease), but its affirmative defense of equitable estoppel is not)

Marine Industrial Constr., LLC v. United States, No. 15-1189 (Dec. 29, 2020) (concerning cross motions for summary judgment, court: (i) denies plaintiff's motion to strike (as untimely) an objection made in the Government's motion; (ii) denies plaintiff's objection to the authentication of certain exhibits in Government's motion; (iii) grants Government's motion to strike certain testimony of plaintiff's witness statement as lay witness opinion; and (iv) denies plaintiff's motion to re-designate lay witness testimony as expert opinion)

Ehren-Haus Industries, Inc. v. United States, No. 19-946 C (Oct. 28, 2020) (standards for analyzing request to limit scope of depositions)

HCIC Enterprises, LLC d/b/a HCI General Contractors v. United States, No. 18-1943 C (July 9, 2020) (denies motion to file second amended complaint because, inter alia, (a) it asks court to scrutinize process leading to final decision when court reviews claims de novo and (b) it does not allege sufficient fact to support claim of bad faith termination)

The Hanover Ins. Co. v. United States, Nos. 13-499 C, et al. (Jan. 29, 2020) (denies contractor's motion to strike a government filing alleging the contractor's attorney's alleged lack of candor to the court when appearing as a witness)

Colonna's Shipyard, Inc. V. United States, No. 19-1376 C (Jan. 24, 2020) (grants Government's motion to  transfer case to ASBCA because the ASBCA appeal was filed first, the cases involve the same contract and similar issues, substantial effort has already been expended at the ASBCA, and transfer would avoid duplication of efforts)

Interimage, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-582 C , 16-1300 C (Jan. 13, 2020) (disputed issues of fact preclude granting cross-motions for summary judgment concerning amount of fees owing under delivery orders)

Kudu Limited II, Inc. v. United States, No. 18-118 C (Dec. 31, 2019) (denies Government's motion to suspend discovery pending resolution of motion for judgment on pleadings primarily because Government has delayed both its responses to discovery requests and its filing of the motion to dismiss) 

DCX-CHOL Enterprises, Inc. v United States, No. 18-395 (June 13, 2019) (remands case to Contracting Officer to issue decision on claim for damages for rescission because Contracting Officer had mistakenly concluded it would be improper to issue the decision while bid protest concerning same rescission was pending in court)

CB&I AREVA MOX Services, LLC v. United States, Nos. 16-950 C, et al. (Apr. 8, 2019) (grants Government's motion to admit 14 attorneys from private law firm to protective order to assist DOJ attorneys in litigation)

United Launch Services, LLC, et al. v. United States, No. 12-380 C (Nov. 1, 2018) (denies motion for leave to file interlocutory appeal of court's prior decision denying plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment because none of requirements for such motions were present)

LW Construction of Charleston, LLC v. United States, No. 14-960 C (July 31, 2018) (permits Government to amend answer long after original Complaint was filed in order to add affirmative defenses and counterclaims related to plaintiff's alleged fraudulent representation of its eligibility as SDVOSB in obtaining and performing contract)

BGT Holdings, LLC v. United States, No. 18-178 C (July 20, 2018) (denies Government's motion to dismiss several counts of Complaint and instead grants plaintiff's motion to amend Complaint)

DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-1034 C (Apr. 25, 2018) (denies Government's request for extensive discovery from third party concerning its valuation report, which is already in defendant's possession and which will not be utilized or relied upon by plaintiff in current litigation)

The Hanover Insurance Co., et al. v. United States, Nos. 13-500 C, et al. (Apr. 12, 2018) (denies defendant's motion to strike portion of rebuttal expert's report because, even though it was untimely (disclosed late to the defendant), the late disclosure was substantially justified and harmless because the contents of the report can be addressed by the defendant during depositions and defendant may file a request to submit a surrebuttal)

The Hanover Insurance Co., et al. v. United States, No. 13-500 C (Sep. 15, 2017) (permits defendant to amend answers to include affirmative defenses and counterclaims in fraud as a result of plaintiffs' amendments to their complaints)

MWH Global, Inc. v. United States, No. 15-1070 C (Aug. 31, 2017) (denies Government's motion to take more depositions than provided for in RCFC 30(a)(2)(A)(1) because the Government's motion offered no explanation as to why additional depositions should be allowed under the standards in the discovery rule)

Tetra Tech, Inc., a Delaware Corp., and Tetra Tech EC, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-619 C (Aug. 28, 2017) (court exercises discretionary power to allow parent to join its wholly-owned subsidiary to suit because subsidiary is the party actually contracting with Government)

Seneca Sawmill Co. v. United States, No. 16-1001 C (Mar. 29, 2017) (denies Government's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim because contractor's allegation that Government improperly reduced acreage to be harvested under timber sales contract in violation of contract's termination provision and as a result of Government's mishandling of issues concerning protection of northern spotted owls in the area was sufficient to state a claim for breach of contract)

Global Freight Systems Co., W.L.L. v. United States, No. 15-378 C (Dec. 29, 2016) (authorizes limited discovery on issue of whether subcontractor was intended third party beneficiary of prime contract)

DaVita HealthCare Partners, Inc., et al. v United States, No. 11-297 C (Sep. 29, 2016) (discovery, work product privilege; testifying experts, draft expert reports)

Securiforce International America, LLC v. United States, No. 12-759 C (July 12, 2016) (denies motions for sanctions as a result of Government's alleged failures to provide adequate discovery responses)

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. United States, No. 12-286 C (Apr. 14, 2016) (imposes sanctions on Government (preclusion of use of documents and reimbursement of a portion of plaintiff's attorneys' fees) for unreasonable delays in production of documents)

Stromness MPO LLC v. United States, No. 14-711 C (Apr. 12, 2016) (denies Government's motion to dismiss because Complaint contained plausible allegations that Government had improperly, partially terminated unified lease)

Demodulation, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-236 C (Sep. 18, 2015) (analysis of reasonableness of claimed attorney fees as sanction for issuance of patently unreasonable subpoena duces tecum, including prevailing hourly billing rates in D.C. area for attorneys and paralegals)

New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization, Inc., d/b/a Peoples Health Network v. United States, No. 11-541 C (Aug. 21, 2015) (grants motion to compel Government to redo searches for discovery documents)

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. v. United States, No. 12-286 C (Mar. 9, 2015) (standards for enforcing "claw back" provision for return of privileged documents inadvertently produced during discovery)

H.J. Lyness Construction, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-129 C (Jan. 21, 2015) (denies Government's motion for summary judgment because material fact issues remain as to whether parties' conduct established that release following convenience termination was intended to bar claims involved in suit)

Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-366 C (June 26, 2014) (partially grants Government's motion for protective order against certain discovery requests that were outside scope of agreed discovery and unduly burdensome)

K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. United States, No. 05-981 C (Apr. 7, 2014) (denies cross motions for summary judgment due to material issues of fact)

Huntington Promotional & Supply, LLC v. United States, No. 11-692 C (Feb. 27, 2014) (refuses to dismiss suit prior to discovery and argument over Government's contention that no contract exists) 

Demodulation, Inc. v. United States, No. 11-236 C (Feb. 7, 2014) (vacates prior rulings on substantive motion in case for a clean start after previous judge disqualified herself based on prior acquaintance and professional relationship with potential fact witness)

 

This website links to resources on the web concerning government contracting. It is not intended to provide legal advice. Moreover, I do not vouch for the completeness, currency, or accuracy of the sites to which it links. If you have comments, suggestions, or corrections, please email me