"The [Contract Disputes Act of 1978] grants the Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction over actions brought on claims within twelve months of a contracting officer's final decision." James M. Ellett Constr. Co. v. United States, 93 F.3d 1537, 1541 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (citing 41 U.S.C. § 609(a)). Jurisdiction requires both that a claim meeting certain requirements have been submitted to the relevant contracting officer and that the contracting officer have issued a final decision on that claim. Id. at 1541-42. K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. US, (Fed. Cir. 2015).
Since 1994, the CDA has also required that all claims related to government contracts be submitted to a contracting officer within six years of the accrual of the claim. [Citations omitted.] Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. US, 764 F. 3d 51 (DC Cir. 2014).
Written demand for a sum certain
A claim is "'a written demand or written assertion by one of the contracting parties seeking, as a matter of right, the payment of money in a sum certain, the adjustment or interpretation of contract terms, or other relief arising under or relating to the contract.'" Reflectone, 60 F.3d at 1575 (quoting regulation then codified at 48 C.F.R. § 33.201; current version at 48 C.F.R. § 52.233-1). A claim need not "be submitted in any particular form or use any particular wording . . . [, but it must provide] a clear and unequivocal statement that gives the contracting officer adequate notice of the basis and amount of the claim." Contract Cleaning Maint., Inc. v. United States, 811 F.2d 586, 592 (Fed. Cir. 1987). A contracting officer's final decision on a claim may either be written, 41 U.S.C. § 605(a), or implied from "[a]ny failure by the contracting officer to issue a decision on a contract claim within the period required," id. § 605(c)(5). K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. US, ibid.
The Contract Disputes Act requires that an authorized corporate official certify that "the claim is made in good faith, that the supporting data are accurate and complete to the best of his knowledge and belief, [and] that the amount requested accurately reflects the contract adjustment for which the contractor believes the government is liable." 41 U.S.C. § 605(c)(1) (2006) (recodified at 41 U.S.C. § 7103(b)(1)(A)-(D)). Under the antifraud provision of the CDA, 41 U.S.C. § 604 (2006) (recodified at 41 U.S.C. § 7103(c)(2)),
[i]f a contractor is unable to support any part of his claim and it is determined that such inability is attributable to misrepresentation of fact or fraud on the part of the contractor, he shall be liable to the Government for an amount equal to such unsupported part of the claim.
Veridyne Corp. v. US, 758 F. 3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2014).
A jurisdictional prerequisite
Under the Contract Disputes Act, obtaining a final decision is a jurisdictional prerequisite to any subsequent action before a Board of Contract Appeals or the trial court. See, e.g., Sharman Co. v. United States, 2 F.3d 1564, 1568 (Fed.Cir.1993) ("Under the CDA, a final decision by the contracting officer on a claim, whether asserted by the contractor or the government, is a 'jurisdictional prerequisite' to further legal action thereon."), overruled on other grounds by Reflectone, Inc. v. Dalton, 60 F.3d 1572 (Fed. Cir.1995) (en banc). The purpose of this requirement is "to create opportunities for informal dispute resolution at the contracting officer level and to provide contractors with clear notice as to the government's position regarding contract claims." Applied Cos. v. United States, 144 F.3d 1470, 1478 (Fed.Cir.1998). This jurisdictional prerequisite applies even when a claim is asserted as a defense. See M. Maropakis Carpentry, Inc. v. United States, 609 F.3d 1323, 1331 (Fed.Cir.2010) (holding that a party "seeking an adjustment of contract terms must meet the jurisdictional requirements and procedural prerequisites of the [Contract Disputes Act], whether asserting the claim against the government as an affirmative claim or as a defense to a government action"). Raytheon Co. v. US, 747 F. 3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2014).
Identifying individual claims
Identifying what constitutes a separate claim is important. [T]he jurisdictional standard must be applied to each claim, not an entire case; jurisdiction exists over those claims which satisfy the requirements of an adequate statement of the amount sought and an adequate statement of the basis for the request. See Joseph Morton Co. v. United States, 757 F.2d 1273, 1281 (Fed. Cir. 1985) ("Congress did not intend the word 'claim' to mean the whole case between the contractor and the Government; but, rather, that 'claim' mean each claim under the CDA for money that is one part of a divisible case."); see also M. Maropakis Carpentry, Inc. v. United States, 609 F.3d 1323, 1327-32 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (reaching different results for different claims in determining Court of Federal Claims jurisdiction). Claim identification is important also for application of the rule that, once a claim is in litigation, the contracting officer may not rule on it—even if the claim is not properly in litigation because it was not properly submitted to and denied by the contracting officer before it was placed in litigation. Sharman Co. v. United States, 2 F.3d 1564, 1571-72 (Fed. Cir. 1993) ("Once a claim is in litigation, the Department of Justice gains exclusive authority to act in the pending litigation . . . [,] divest[ing] the contracting officer of his authority to issue a final decision on the claim.") (citing 28 U.S.C. §§ 516-520), overruled on other grounds, Reflectone, 60 F.3d 1572; see also John Cibinic, Jr., et al., Administration of Government Contracts 1292-93 (4th ed. 2006) ("The contracting officer's authority to settle claims does not extend to cases in which litigation has commenced in a court. . . . [N]o final decision may be issued on a matter that is already in litigation."). K-Con Building Systems, Inc. v. US, ibid.
THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of 36 U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze, interpret and apply provisions of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978. The selection of decisions spans from 2005 to the date of publication.