As most government contractors will readily admit, there are few pieces of mail more unwelcome than a cure notice from Uncle Sam. This letter, for those of you who may be blissfully unaccustomed, is a government-issued notification that is supposed to put the contractor on notice that the contract may be terminated for default in light of certain alleged performance failures, which the government is supposed to specify for the contractor. In addition, as its name would suggest, the purpose of the communication is to give the contractor an opportunity to explain how it will cure the issue(s) giving rise to the government’s concerns by a date certain—often established as a number of days from the contractor’s receipt of the notice (typically 10 days, but sometimes longer).Continue Reading When the Cure Is Worse Than the Disease: Recent CBCA Decision Regarding Improper Default Terminations Provides a Teachable Moment for Every Contractor

On May 22nd, Practice Group Co-Leaders Franklin Turner and Alexander Major delivered a presentation on Effectively Prosecuting Contract Claims Against the Government to attendees at the annual Native Hawaiian Organizations Association Business Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii. After the presentation, Franklin and Alex also hosted a legal Q&A session for contractors of all sizes.

The late, great Yogi Berra once said that “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” Sometimes it seems as if Yogi’s logic is equally applicable to the claims process in the world of Government contracting, where 90 percent of the early battle is following the correct claim initiation procedures prescribed by the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”), 41 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7109.
Continue Reading Government Contractors Can Learn From Yogi Berra: Failure to Follow Correct Claim Submission Procedures Results in Jurisdictional Doom