A contractor can become entitled to costs during a delay in performance. But when is a government contractor entitled to unabsorbed overhead costs during a government-caused suspension or delay? A recent Civilian Board of Contracts Appeals case answers that question in part.
Author Archives: Shane McCall
GAO: Where RFP Requirements Clearly Not Met, Protest Costs Reimbursable
As Koprince Law attorneys have discussed in depth, GAO will in some instances award costs for a clearly meritorious protest where an agency does not take corrective action before the due date for the agency report. But what are the standards for a “clearly meritorious” protest?
It’s instructive to look at a recent GAO decision that reviewed protest grounds dealing with past performance evaluation and a requirement that the Army be able to set up the proposed product within 60 seconds.
Claim of Bad Faith Termination by Government Requires Strong Evidence, says CBCA
An agency has broad discretion to terminate a contract for convenience. But sometimes, a contractor will challenge the termination for convenience by arguing that the agency acted in bad faith in terminating the contract.
A recent CBCA decision looks at what type of evidence is needed to establish bad faith. Not surprisingly, the CBCA confirms that the standard of proof is quite high.
GAO: Subcontracting Plan Required by Solicitation Must be in Proposal
It’s a basic tenet of government contracting that a contractor must comply with the requirements of an agency solicitation. Those are the rules of the game. But in practice, there can be some tricky calls. For instance, what if a solicitation includes a requirement that appears to conflict with the FAR? Does an offeror still have to comply?
A recent GAO decision explored this situation in the context of a solicitation’s requirement for subcontracting plans.
At GAO, Challenge of Restrictive Terms of Solicitation Tough Burden to Meet
How does a company go about challenging overly restrictive terms in a solicitation? In order to make such a challenge (and some of them do succeed), it is necessary to show something more than just the fact that a protestor cannot meet the terms of the solicitation.
A recent GAO decision provides a real-world example of how not to challenge a solicitation as overly restrictive of competition and reinforces that this can be a difficult thing to prove at GAO.
At CBCA, Small Claims Procedure Nets Winning Claim for Extra Work
The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals can be used to pursue appeals of claims of all sizes. A special small claims process is available for lower-dollar appeals.
A recent CBCA decision is a good reminder of the small claims procedure available at the Board. In this case, the claimant was able to use this streamlined procedure to win an appeal of its claim for $7,272.17.
GAO: Task Order Outside Scope of Underlying IDIQ Not Allowed
As agencies look for ways to streamline acquisitions, task and delivery order procurements are becoming increasingly popular. But an agency doesn’t have unfettered discretion to award work under a multiple-award contract; each task or delivery order must be within the scope of the awarded IDIQ.
A recent GAO opinion considers what happens when an agency issues task orders that are outside the scope of the underlying multiple-award contract.