In the wake of the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, businesses that rely on the Port of Baltimore (“Port”) are grappling with impacts to their contracts and supply chains.  The Port suspended waterway traffic until further notice, shutting off one of the busiest ports on the East Coast indefinitely.  Major commodities that travel through the Port include ground vehicles and their parts, electronics, construction materials, and steel—all things that federal contractors may need to perform their scopes of work.  Thus, the Port closure will undoubtedly impact some governme ..read more

Last week a Texas federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to respond to an amended complaint seeking to block the Biden Administration’s new regulations under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) filed by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeast Texas, Inc. and Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc (collectively, ABC). On the heels of a motion to dismiss, ABC amended its complaint to address any claimed deficiencies in pleading injury in fact and to identify examples of member contractors of each association who were injured by the Final Rule.  DOL is ex ..read more

On February 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released its Fiscal Year 2023 False Claims Act (“FCA”) statistics showing recoveries of almost $2.7 billion.  Last year’s recoveries exceeded 2022’s $2.2 billion but are still one of the lesser collections of FCA settlements and judgments in the past 10 years.  DOJ also had to do a lot more work to get paid: it reported a record 543 settlements and judgements in 2023, almost 200 more than 2022.  This likely is due to DOJ’s focus on COVID-19 related fraud, which can implicate individuals and small businesses with less m ..read more

The general rule (FAR 14.404-1(a)) is that – once a solicitation is put out for bid – the agency must award the contract to the responsible bidder with the lowest responsive bid.  However, as is usually the case, there are exceptions.  The agency can cancel a solicitation under a number of limited circumstances, including based on defects in the solicitation or specifications, unreasonable bid pricing, or lack of funding.  The full list of potential justifications is available at FAR 14.404-1(c). The GAO discussed some of the justifications for canceling a solicitation – includi ..read more

A recent decision in SBA Contracting, LLC, ASBCA No. 63320 (Oct. 3, 2023) provides an important reminder for government contractors to carefully consider the volatility of market conditions before submitting firm-fixed price contract proposals to the Federal Government.    The U.S. Army (Army) awarded a firm fixed price commercial services contract to Sama Bna Aliraq Company (SBA) to lease and maintain various non-tactical vehicles (Contract).  After award, SBA repeatedly attempted to modify the Contract, including, pricing, delivery dates, and vehicle condition, due to an alleg ..read more

Fox’s Fourth Annual Federal Contracts Symposium Washington, D.C.| Willard InterContinental Thank you for those who were able to join us at our fourth annual Federal Contracts Symposium.  We invite you to review the materials from our presentations that covered key issues facing government contractors.  The topics include:  Year in Review – Federal Contracts Case Law Update Cost Accounting Compliance How the IIJA and IRA will Impact Federal Contractors in 2023 and Beyond Everything You Thought You Knew About CDA Jurisdiction Just Changed – And For the Better How Will AI and Cha ..read more

October 23-24 | Washington, D.C.| Willard InterContinental Join Fox Rothschild’s Federal Government Contracts & Procurement attorneys, BRG’s Government Contracts professionals, industry leaders and government representative for targeted sessions and networking at our fourth annual Federal Contract Symposium. You can register for the event here. The in-person event kicks off on October 23 with an evening reception from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. On October 24, our panelists will discuss key issues facing government contractors. The day will include facilitated breakout sessions. The topics to be cov ..read more

The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA or Board) issued an opinion in Appeal of StructSure Projects, Inc., granting StructSure additional COVID-19 related costs arising under a fixed-price task order.  ASBCA No. 62927 (Aug. 8, 2023).  To date, federal contractors performing under that type of task order have had difficulty recovering for additional costs.  Here, the Board allowed the contractor to recover additional temporary facility rental costs, because the Government continued to use and benefit from the rented facilities throughout the COVID-19 delay and the ta ..read more

The Supreme Court recently decided in Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, that federal district courts must stay trial proceedings pending the resolution of an interlocutory appeal of the denial[1] of a motion to compel arbitration. See Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski, No. 22–105, slip op. at 10. Under Section 16(a) of the Federal Arbitration Act, when a district court denies a motion to compel arbitration, the party seeking to compel arbitration is entitled to an immediate (interlocutory) appeal on that issue.  Id. at 1 (citing 9 U.S.C. §16(a)).  Previously, lower courts had split on whether the p ..read more

Early this month, several electrical trade associations urged the Biden administration to implement pragmatic BABA rules.  In the letter sent to the Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator at the White House, the associations highlighted that “[t]he inability to deploy resources and technologies due to BABA compliance barriers and complexities will result in fewer infrastructure, decarbonization, and electrification projects in the coming years.”[1]  BABA is part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law in 2021.  The Act requires “none of the fu ..read more