Public Contracting Institute Blog

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant Under the right set of circumstances, the government will not be liable for obstructions to the performance of contracts resulting from its public and general acts as the sovereign.  JE Dunn Const. Co, ASBCA No. 62936, April 25,...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant In an interesting case whose outcome is not yet finally determined, the Federal Circuit held that the Army materially breached a payment clause by making payments to an entity not in the contractor’s Central Contractor Registration...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant An interesting case concerning waivers was recently decided by the Court of Federal Claims.  Cornelio Salazar d/b/a USA Ranch v. United States, No. 211-1114C (Fed. Claims May 3, 2022).  The most interesting issue concerns whether...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant A recent Civilian Board of Contract Appeals decision reminds us all of the jurisdictional nature of filing an appeal with the Board within 90 days of receipt of the contracting officer’s (“CO”) decision.  Eagle Peak Rock &...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant and Retired Attorney. Incorporation by Reference “provides a method for integrating material from various documents into a host document…by citing such material in a manner that makes clear that the material is effectively part of...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant and Retired Attorney May an agency Source Selection Official rely on his/her personal knowledge in making a source selection?  The answer is provided in Veterans Choice Med. Equip, LLC, B-419991, Oct. 20, 2021, which is yes, if the...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant and Retired Attorney There are only very narrow circumstances under which the prices in a fixed-price contract can be reformed.  Unfortunately, in the case of Cooper Ports America, LLC, ASBCA No. 61349, Feb. 10, 2022, those...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant and Retired Attorney Government contracts professionals know that the decisions on bid protests issued by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) are only recommendations to procuring agencies, and therefore, are not...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant and Retired Attorney The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) reiterated in a recent protest that in a long term contract, such a 5 year multiple award contract (“MAC”) or a General Services...

By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant & Retired Attorney Both the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (“CBCA”) have clear rules that permit the boards to take remedial or even arguably punitive action in the...