July 19, 2013
When preparing proposals and hiring personnel to perform a contract, contractors must be careful to avoid a “bait and switch” involving key personnel. In Dorado Services, Inc., B-408075 (Comp. Gen. June 14, 2013), the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command issued a request for proposals for base support services including heating, ventilation, air conditioning,…
July 17, 2013
In a recent federal criminal case, a former GSA Assistant Property Manager pled guilty to false statements and witness tampering in connection with a facilities contract for the Lloyd D. George federal Courthouse in Las Vegas, Nevada. In United States v. Underhill, No. 12-CR-00301, the defendant, Steven Underhill, had a relationship with a woman named “L.V.” (undisclosed in court documents…
July 17, 2013
One year ago, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy memorandum directing agencies to accelerate payments to prime contractors – with the goal being 15 days from the receipt of a proper invoice – so that the prime contractor can accelerate payments to small business subcontractors. This memorandum was followed by a temporary FAR clause (reported here). This policy was…
July 15, 2013
Corrective action is reviewable, but it is not easy to overturn, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Alutiiq Pacific LLC (Alutiiq), respectively, learned not too long ago, in Findings and Recommendations from FAA’s Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA).
After Alutiiq initially won an FAA award, a disappointed offeror, American Eagle Protective Services (AEPS),…
July 12, 2013
In a recent bid protest decision, IBM-U.S. Federal, B-407073.3 (Comp. Gen. June 6, 2013), (published June 14, 2013), GAO found that a four-year, $600 million CIA cloud computing contract was wrongly awarded to Amazon over IBM and other bidders. The decision was based on the agency’s relaxation of security terms during post-solicitation negotiations with Amazon and its failure to evaluate…
July 12, 2013
Over the years, Congress has enacted many whistleblower protection statutes aimed at specific industries to encourage employees in those industries to report fraud, waste, and abuse. All federal government contractors – at every level - should be aware of the newest whistleblower protection statute that went into effect on July 1, 2013. The statute, 41 U.S.C. § 4712, applies to all…
July 10, 2013
In the recent size appeal decision, Marple Fleet Leasing, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5479 (June 24, 2013), the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) reiterated the well-established rule that affiliation may be based solely on ownership, even in the absence of any other independent grounds. If there were any doubt on this point previously (and there shouldn’t have been), there is certainly…
July 10, 2013
In a recent federal court decision, United States ex rel. Schroeder v. CH2M Hill, No. CV-09-5038, (E.D. Wash, May 13, 2013), the Court granted the government’s motion to dismiss a qui tam relator, Carl Schroeder, because Schroeder pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to the exact same overbilling scheme on which his False Claims Act qui tam action was based.
The Court…
July 8, 2013
The Department of Defense, NASA, and the GSA are proposing to amend the FAR by implementing a process of standardizing the use of Procurement Instrument Identifiers (PIIDs). These identifiers would be unique to each contracting office within each agency, as well as other grant and finance offices throughout the Federal Government. This proposed rule, 78 Fed. Reg. 34020-01, which was…
July 2, 2013
In a rare federal appellate decision involving the interpretation of a government contractor teaming agreement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the agreement’s exclusivity requirements in X Technologies Inc. v. Marvin Test Systems, Inc., No. 12-50230 (5th Cir. June 11, 2013).
The U.S. Air Force (“USAF”) issued a small business set-aside solicitation for new testing…
July 1, 2013
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) recently held a contract void ab initio for fraud in the inducement where the contractor fraudulently misrepresented its relationship with a proposed subcontractor holding certifications critical to the contractor’s eligibility for award. Servicios y Obras Isetan S.L., ASBCA No. 57584 (April 5, 2013).
The case involved a firm…
July 1, 2013
As previously reported here, the Court of Federal Claims has not been happy with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (“OSDBU”). In January, the Court granted a preliminary injunction to the protestor in KWV, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-882C, re-instating the protestor’s status as a Veteran Owned Small Business…
July 19, 2013
When preparing proposals and hiring personnel to perform a contract, contractors must be careful to avoid a “bait and switch” involving key personnel. In Dorado Services, Inc., B-408075 (Comp. Gen. June 14, 2013), the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Command issued a request for proposals for base support services including heating, ventilation, air conditioning,…
July 17, 2013
In a recent federal criminal case, a former GSA Assistant Property Manager pled guilty to false statements and witness tampering in connection with a facilities contract for the Lloyd D. George federal Courthouse in Las Vegas, Nevada. In United States v. Underhill, No. 12-CR-00301, the defendant, Steven Underhill, had a relationship with a woman named “L.V.” (undisclosed in court documents…
July 17, 2013
One year ago, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy memorandum directing agencies to accelerate payments to prime contractors – with the goal being 15 days from the receipt of a proper invoice – so that the prime contractor can accelerate payments to small business subcontractors. This memorandum was followed by a temporary FAR clause (reported here). This policy was…
July 15, 2013
Corrective action is reviewable, but it is not easy to overturn, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Alutiiq Pacific LLC (Alutiiq), respectively, learned not too long ago, in Findings and Recommendations from FAA’s Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA).
After Alutiiq initially won an FAA award, a disappointed offeror, American Eagle Protective Services (AEPS),…
July 12, 2013
In a recent bid protest decision, IBM-U.S. Federal, B-407073.3 (Comp. Gen. June 6, 2013), (published June 14, 2013), GAO found that a four-year, $600 million CIA cloud computing contract was wrongly awarded to Amazon over IBM and other bidders. The decision was based on the agency’s relaxation of security terms during post-solicitation negotiations with Amazon and its failure to evaluate…
July 12, 2013
Over the years, Congress has enacted many whistleblower protection statutes aimed at specific industries to encourage employees in those industries to report fraud, waste, and abuse. All federal government contractors – at every level - should be aware of the newest whistleblower protection statute that went into effect on July 1, 2013. The statute, 41 U.S.C. § 4712, applies to all…
July 10, 2013
In the recent size appeal decision, Marple Fleet Leasing, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5479 (June 24, 2013), the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) reiterated the well-established rule that affiliation may be based solely on ownership, even in the absence of any other independent grounds. If there were any doubt on this point previously (and there shouldn’t have been), there is certainly…
July 10, 2013
In a recent federal court decision, United States ex rel. Schroeder v. CH2M Hill, No. CV-09-5038, (E.D. Wash, May 13, 2013), the Court granted the government’s motion to dismiss a qui tam relator, Carl Schroeder, because Schroeder pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to the exact same overbilling scheme on which his False Claims Act qui tam action was based.
The Court…
July 8, 2013
The Department of Defense, NASA, and the GSA are proposing to amend the FAR by implementing a process of standardizing the use of Procurement Instrument Identifiers (PIIDs). These identifiers would be unique to each contracting office within each agency, as well as other grant and finance offices throughout the Federal Government. This proposed rule, 78 Fed. Reg. 34020-01, which was…
July 2, 2013
In a rare federal appellate decision involving the interpretation of a government contractor teaming agreement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the agreement’s exclusivity requirements in X Technologies Inc. v. Marvin Test Systems, Inc., No. 12-50230 (5th Cir. June 11, 2013).
The U.S. Air Force (“USAF”) issued a small business set-aside solicitation for new testing…
July 1, 2013
The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) recently held a contract void ab initio for fraud in the inducement where the contractor fraudulently misrepresented its relationship with a proposed subcontractor holding certifications critical to the contractor’s eligibility for award. Servicios y Obras Isetan S.L., ASBCA No. 57584 (April 5, 2013).
The case involved a firm…
July 1, 2013
As previously reported here, the Court of Federal Claims has not been happy with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (“OSDBU”). In January, the Court granted a preliminary injunction to the protestor in KWV, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-882C, re-instating the protestor’s status as a Veteran Owned Small Business…
