News

Robert M. Moore and Charlie C.H. Lee were selected by their peers for inclusion in the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the fields of Construction Law and Litigation – Construction.

President Obama signed the “Fair Play and Safe Workplaces” Executive Order on July 31, 2014, targeting contractor compliance with Federal labor laws.  The Executive Order creates new obligations, both pre- and post- award, on federal contracts for goods and services, including construction, that exceed $500,000. Read More…

Moore & Lee is pleased to welcome Michael Dockins as a summer associate.  Michael, who was formerly a paralegal at Moore & Lee, has just finished his first year at the University of Texas School of Law.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently determined that the filing of a mechanic’s lien does not waive a party’s right to insist on the satisfaction of contractual conditions precedent to filing suit.  In Dominion Transmission, Inc. v. Precision Pipeline, Inc., 2013 WL 5962939, a contractor and a utility company entered into an agreement for the construction of a pipeline in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Read More…

It is well established that in a fixed-price contract, the contractor bears the risk that the actual costs of performance may exceed the contract price.  The recent decision in Agility Defense & Government Services, Inc. v. United States highlights the importance of that principle, even in cases where it appears safe to assume that a price adjustment will be granted. Read More…

In a recent opinion, the Federal Circuit limited the federal government’s ability to shift the risk of differing site conditions to a contractor.  In Metcalf Construction Co., Inc. v. United States, 742 F.3d 984 (Fed. Cir. 2014), the government rejected a design-build contractor’s claim for additional compensation arising from the discovery of differing site conditions. Read More…

The GAO’s recent Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress shows that bid protesters have succeeded most often when challenging process-related issues, rather than the reasonableness of the agency’s decision.  The annual report indicates that successful bid protests most commonly addressed: (1) failure to follow solicitation criteria; (2) unequal treatment; (3) inadequate documentation; and (4) unreasonable price and/or cost evaluations.  Read More…

On December 26, 2013, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014 was signed into law. That law, along with broader ranging Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (BBA), will impact government contracting in a number of ways, including new requirements for contracting with suspended/debarred entities, new requirements for small business acknowledgements and new regulations requiring prime contractors to review and monitor subcontractors’ subcontract plans.  Read More…

Alternative dispute resolution clauses requiring mediation as a condition precedent to litigation are common in construction contracts.  While most courts hold that such ADR clauses do not impact a party’s right to file a mechanic’s lien, a recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland found differently. Read More…

A Virginia court recently determined that a subcontractor’s bond claim that named the surety, but not the principal, was improper.  After a subcontractor provided equipment and materials to a general contractor on a construction project, a dispute arose over payment.  The subcontractor filed a mechanic’s lien which was then bonded off by the general contractor.  The subcontractor then commenced litigation against the surety on the bond.  Read More…