While an agency may require a unilateral reduction in a contractor’s price due to a reduced scope of work, the government carries the burden of proving the amount.

In a recent decision, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals held that while an agency was entitled to unilaterally reduce the scope of work, the agency had not proven the amount of the unilateral deduction it demanded–and the government’s failure to meet its burden of proof entitled the contractor to the remaining contract price.

In HCS, Inc., ASBCA No. 60533, 08-1BCA ¶ 33,748 (2016), the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi developed a sink hole, which the Navy believed was attributable to a leak in a buried 8-inch pipe. To correct the problem, the Navy issued a firm-fixed price solicitation for excavation and repair of the damaged pipe section, among other tasks. Offerors were instructed they could expect to replace up to 60 feet of 8-inch pipe.

HCS, Inc. was subsequently awarded the contract at a fixed price of $40,975. After obtaining the necessary permitting, HCS began excavating the damaged pipe sections. During the excavation, HCS discovered there was a previously undisclosed section of 4-inch pipe that ran perpendicular to the 8-inch section the Navy believed was damaged. The 4-inch pipe intersected the 8-inch pipe in a “tee” joint. Upon further inspection, it became clear that the 4-inch pipe was the actual cause of the leak.

HCS consulted with the Contracting Officer’s Representative, who informed HCS that the 4-inch pipe previously provided water to a structure that had since been torn down. The 4-inch pipe had been capped, but was now leaking. HCS explained there were two paths forward. HCS could either splice in a new segment of 8-inch pipe, thereby removing the tee intersection with the 4-inch pipe, or demolish the majority of the discovered 4-inch pipe and recap it, preserving the tee intersection. HCS was instructed to preserve the tee intersection and recap the 4-inch pipe. No 8-inch pipe needed to be replaced.

As a result of the change in work, HCS estimated that the total price to the government would decrease by $1,435. But even though HCS had performed work related to the 8-inch pipe, the Navy contended the costs for the 8-inch pipe work should be removed from the contract. The Navy instructed HCS to submit a cost breakdown of labor, materials and equipment for the entire project. HCS countered that the Navy was only entitled to the documentation for the new work because this was a firm fixed price contract. When HCS did not provide all the documentation the Navy desired, the COR estimated the revised contract work to be worth $19,892.87. The Navy unilaterally lowered the contract price to that amount.

HCS filed a claim seeking payment of the full original contract price. The Contracting Officer (unsurprisingly) denied the claim. HCS then filed an appeal with the ASBCA, arguing that the amount of the Navy’s unilateral deduction was unreasonable and unsupported.

The ASBCA wrote that under the FAR’s Changes clause “the contract price must be equitably adjusted when a change in the contract work causes an increase or decrease in the cost of performance of its work.”  In the case of a “change that deletes contract work,” the government “is entitled to a downward adjustment in contract price to the extent of the savings flowing to the contractor therefrom.”

However, although the government is entitled to a downward adjustment in such cases, “[t]he government has the burden of proving the amount of cost savings due to deletion of work.” A contractor, therefore, “is entitled to receive its contract price, unless the government demonstrates the government is entitled to a price reduction for deleted work.”

In this case, the ASBCA held that “the burden of proof is on the Navy to show the amount of cost savings due to its deletion of work.”  The ASBCA rejected the Navy’s assertion that it was essentially entitled to “re-price” the entire contract, writing, “[w]e are aware of no authority allowing the Navy to delete work from a contract after work performance and then refuse to pay for the work initially specified and performed, and the Navy cites us no legal authority for such action.”

The ASBCA noted that “[a]t trial, the Navy did not specifically challenge the reasonableness of any of the dollar amounts presented by” HCS. “Simply put,” the ASBCA concluded, “the Navy did not carry its burden of proof.  It has made no showing here of entitlement to a price reduction based on deleted work.”

The ASBCA sustained HCS’s appeal, and held that HCS was entitled to recover $23,082, plus interest.

When a contract change results in a reduction in the contractor’s scope of work, the agency is entitled to an equitable adjustment. But, as HCS, Inc. demonstrates, the government–not the contractor–bears the burden of demonstrating that the amount of that downward equitable adjustment is appropriate. In the context of a firm fixed price contract, if the agency cannot provide the necessary proof, the contractor is entitled to the full contract price.