GovConLaw Blog

Every contract imposes upon each party a duty of good faith and fair dealing in its performance and enforcement. Failure to fulfill that duty constitutes a breach of contract, as does failure to fulfill a duty imposed by a promise stated in the contract. However, in a...

In an effort to reduce federal government construction project costs and delivery timelines, on November 8, 2018, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a proposed rule amending the GSA Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to formally adopt the project delivery...

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a contractor was required to furnish payment and performance bonds even though its government contracts did not include the standard FAR clause (FAR 52.228-15, Performance and Payment Bonds –...

The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has a business development program known as the 8(a) program under which qualifying small businesses can receive additional assistance, including set-aside contracts. To participate in the 8(a) program, a small business must...

Contractors who do business with the Federal Government know that the Federal Government uses a number of standard forms. While the use of a standard form is not always mandatory, a recent GAO case demonstrates the risk a contractor might assume when not using...

Increasingly, the Federal Government relies on email to communicate with its contractors. A recent decision by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) in Aerospace Facilities Group, Inc., ASBCA No. 61026, 2018 WL 3725567 (July 19, 2018) reinforces the...

On September 4, 2018, the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) announced that it was reducing the surety bond guarantee fee under its Surety Bond Guarantee program. Government construction contracts require the prime contractor to post payment and performance bonds....

It seems that government contractors are increasingly facing government affirmative defenses of fraud in response to their appeals. Contractors need to be aware of the differing jurisdictional standards when confronted with a government affirmative defense of fraud,...

The most popular forum for filing a bid protest is the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). However, pursuing post-award protests with GAO requires strict compliance with specific time periods in which to file a protest. GAO’s timeliness rules require that a...

The General Accountability Office (“GAO”) has joined the electronic filing club for bid protests. All new protests after May 1, 2018 are required to be filed and administered using GAO’s new Electronic Protest Docketing System (“EPDS”). The only exceptions are for...

Protests are not uncommon in government contracts. Contractors often disagree with the contracting agency’s evaluation of their proposals and sometimes want to challenge the agency’s source selection decision. Part of the strategy in pursuing a protest is deciding the...

One area of government contracting that can be particularly frustrating for government contractors is learning why you didn’t get the contract award. When the Government is using sealed bidding, it’s usually easily to find out why you lost. You compare your bid...