Government Contract Disputes

"It's all about damages."

Holloway Consulting has worked for contractors filing claims against the U.S. Government and has assisted various government agencies in their defense against contractor claims. These claims have taken the form of Request For Equitable Contract Adjustment (REA), defective pricing, bid errors, cost of repair, liquidated damages and contractor termination/replacement. We are also experts in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and have worked on numerous related claims. We are an expert in the government contract dispute resolution process, and each of the types of remedies available to the contractor, subcontractor and, in some cases, the Government. We have worked for both contractors and the government in a wide variety of disputes. Some of areas in which HCG can assist contractors with equitable adjustment claims include:

• Helping to establish the contractor's right to equitable adjustments in the contract price for performing changed work
• Pricing of equitable adjustments for the three basic types of contract changes - additive, deductive, and substitutive changes
• Examining alternative pricing methods and the circumstance under which their use would be appropriate
• Developing the significant and complex components of a claim, i.e., change, delay, lost labor efficiency, extended and/or unabsorbed home office overhead and profit

While government claims against contractors may arise in a variety of circumstances, most claims are predicated on a breach of contractual obligations. HCG personnel have assisted contractor clients with the defense of the following types of government claims:

• Defective cost or pricing data
• Failure to comply with cost accounting standards
• Contract price reduction
• Cost of repairing or replacing defective work
• Liquidated damages for late delivery
• Contract termination and reprocurement

HCG is also expert in the authority and procedures for audits of costs under government contracts, including the determination of:

• Who may audit contractor records
• What records must be made available to the auditors
• What types of costs are allowed to be charged to the contract
• What means are acceptable for calculating allowable costs

Finally, HCG can manage the claim certification process by determining:

• Whether the claim must be certified
• Who must certify the claim
• The time of certification
• The adverse effects of improper certification
• Proper assertion of the claim

Please contact us about your consulting needs.