A federal district court in Washington recently rejected a subcontractor’s motion for reconsideration of a previously granted motion to stay in a Miller Act lawsuit (the Miller Act governs prime contractor bond requirements on federal projects and sets forth remedies against the bond for subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers on such projects). In United States of
Federal Prompt Pay Act Does Not Afford Subcontractors Right to Sue General Contractor
On October 15, 2020, in EMTA Insaat Taahhut ve Ticaret A.S. v. Cosmopolitan Incorporated, a federal district court held that the federal Prompt Pay Act (PPA) (31 U.S.C. §§ 3901, et al.) does not create a private right of action for a subcontractor against a general contractor. The dispute arose from a project for
Timing Is Everything: Miller Act Notice Defect Saves Surety
The Miller Act protects subcontractors from nonpayment on federal projects by requiring prime contractors to issue payment bonds. To obtain relief under the Miller Act, a subcontractor must (1) give the prime contractor written notice of its claim within 90 days of the date it last performed work on a federal project and (2) file
Don’t Be Unreasonable: Equitable Adjustment Conditioned on Government Contractor’s Proof of Reasonable Interpretation of Contract
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. John C. Grimberg Co., Inc., recently reversed an Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision that a federal contractor was entitled to an equitable adjustment on a differing site conditions claim. The Federal Circuit held that the
Don’t Forget to Certify Within Six Years: Recent Opinion Addresses Timeliness of Government Contractor’s Appeal
On May 19, 2020, the Federal Circuit upheld summary judgment against a government contractor for failure to file a claim timely within the six-year time limit prescribed by the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). In Electric Boat Corp. v. Secretary of the Navy, the Federal Circuit determined that the claim from the contractor, Electric Boat,
D.C. Court of Appeals Decision Covers Important Contracting Principles
The D.C. Court of Appeals (the Court) recently issued a decision covering some important public construction contract principles, most notably notice, cost and pricing data requirements, and the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing.
The District of Columbia hired a contractor to perform work at the Fort Totten Solid Waste Transfer Facility. The