The most visible construction project in America is back in the news with a federal appeals court affirming a preliminary injunction against above-ground construction on the new ballroom at the White House. The court found that the president had exceeded his authority by starting construction on public property without the necessary funding and approval from
On October 2, 2024, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals released a copy of their opinion in Chugach Fed. Sols., Inc., ASBCA No. 62712, 2024 WL 4542405 (Oct. 2, 2024). In this case, the board found entitlement for an operations and maintenance contractor for complying with a government-mandated, 14-day quarantine at the start
In Appeal of – JE Dunn Construction Co., the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals considered and denied the government’s post-hearing motion to dismiss JE Dunn’s complaint for failure to submit sums certain for each of its three claims to the contracting officer. JE Dunn filed its appeal in January 2022 seeking damages related
A recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida demonstrates how facts supported by documents generated during the project can be vital to prime contractor/subcontractor disputes. In Berkley Ins. Co. v. Suffolk Constr. Co., No. 19-23059-CV, 2024 WL 3631226 (S.D. Fla. July 22, 2024), following a two-week bench trial
A recent decision from the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, is a MUST READ for any lawyer or construction executive involved with joint ventures (“JV’s”). This decision provides a rare, detailed look into the contentious dynamics at play when JV relationships go bad. The case also discusses how the relationships
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
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
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
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
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,