Public Contracting Institute Blog
The Public Contracting Institute blog supplement our govcon training offerings with insightful articles written by leading professionals across the government contracts industry. Our professionals publish articles on topics on government contracts administration, accounting, bids/proposals, disputes, claims, and much more. For more inforamation about our blog, reach out to seminars@publiccontractinginstitute.com.
Additionally, look for the PCI Practical Matters Podcast, coming soon! It will cover the latest news in our industry, along with insightful commentary on the most important topics in Government Contracting.
THE CONTRACTOR AND THE CONTRACTING OFFICE-A TALE OF FRAUD AND RESPONSIBILITY
By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant The Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) states that “purchases shall be made from, and contracts shall be awarded to, responsible contractors only…No purchase or award shall be made unless the contracting officer makes an...
DEFECTIVE ASSIGNMENT OF CLAIMS ON A CONTRACT
DEFECTIVE ASSIGNMENT OF CLAIMS ON A CONTRACT By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant The Assignment of Claims Act of 1940 (31 U.S.C. § 3727 & 41 U.S.C. § 6305), provides a financing mechanism somewhat similar to the “invoice factoring” used in commercial contracts....
ADVISING OFFEROR 3 TIMES IN DISCUSSIONS THAT ITS PRICE EXCEEDED THE FUNDS AVAILABLE IS NOT MISLEADING
By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant The Army’s advising an offeror that its proposed price exceeded the amount of funds available for the contract was not misleading, according to the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). Zodiac-Poettker HBZ JV, LC, B-419292,...
REQUEST FOR FINAL DECISION ON EQUITABLE ADJUSTMENT REQUEST WAS NOT EXPLICITLY OR IMPLICITLY MADE, HENCE IT WAS NOT A CLAIM
Two previous blogs have discussed Hejran Hejrat Co. Ltd., v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 930 F.3d1354 (Fed. Cir. 2019), and considered exactly what is needed for a contractor’s submission to be a “claim” under the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”). See “No Magic Words...
SUPREME COURT EXPANDS THE DELIBERATIVE PROCESS EXEMPTION TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
The Supreme Court narrowed the category of documents that must be released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request. United States Fish and Wildlife Serv. V. Sierra Club, Inc., 141 S. Ct. 777 (2021). The Court held that FOIA’s deliberative...
Court of Federal Claims Has Jurisdiction Over Implied-in-Fact Contract To Fairly and Honestly Consider An Offeror’s Proposal
The Federal Circuit recently held that the Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over a claim that the government breached an implied-in-fact contract to fairly and honestly consider an offeror’s proposal in the procurement context. This was a question that had...
PROVING (AND NOT PROVING) YOUR CLAIM WITH CERTAINTY
By Richard D. Lieberman, Consultant It is well-recognized that a party (either government or contractor) that seeks recovery of its incurred costs has “the burden of proving the amount…with sufficient certainty so that the determination of the amount…will be more than...
BOARD HAS NO JURISDICTION TO CONSIDER NEW CLAIM THEORIES NOT PRESENTED TO CONTRACTING OFFICER
One of the bedrock principles of the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”) is that each claim by a contractor relating to a federal contract shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer (“CO”) for decision. 41 USC § 7103(a)(1). For a board or a Court to possess...
Did You Know? Fun with the FAR Session 15
By David Gallacher, Partner, Sheppard Mullin We had a great discussion on Fun with the FAR, Episode 15 on June 2, 2021 with host Steven Daoust discussing FAR Part 25, Foreign Acquisitions, with co-host David Gallacher (partner, Sheppard Mullin). We started talking...
LATENESS OF QUOTE IS DETERMINED BY AGENCY’S RECEIPT
When dealing with quotations or offers for commercial items, the standard instructions for offerors make it clear that the submission must “reach the government…by the time specified in the solicitation.” The actual time the offeror sends something (particularly when...