The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with LOJH in Hejran Hejrat Co. Ltd v. US Army Corps of Engineers (Case No. 18-2206-ML) by reversing an order of dismissal obtained by USACE from the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”).  At issue was whether, prior to LOJH’s representation of HHL, the company had submitted a “final” claim to the USACE contracting officer – a pre-requisite for the ASBCA’s jurisdiction.  The Court was unsparing in its criticism of the dismissal that USACE had obtained based on USACE’s assertion that HHL had not submitted a final claim. Stated the Court, “The government’s argument that [HHL’s Request for an Equitable Adjustment] cannot constitute a [final] claim is directly contrary to this court’s en banc decision in Reflectone, Inc. v. Dalton, 60 F.3d 1572 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (en banc), and subsequent cases.”  In addition, the Court criticized the government's view that a con-tractor must include particular words in the contractor’s sub-mission in order to it to qualify as a request for a “final” contracting officer decision, stating “[t]his argument is also squarely incon-sistent with our caselaw . . .” 

The Court ruled “HHL’s March 5[,2015] submission constituted a request for a final decision by the contracting officer, and the con-tracting officer’s denial of that submission was a final decision on a claim. The Board erred when it concluded that it did not have jurisdiction over HHL’s appeal.” The Court’s opinion can be accessed by clicking HERE.

The case will now be remanded to ASBCA for a decision on the merits.  At issue is more than $1.7 million in breach of contract and equitable adjustment claims on HHL’s $9.3 million contract with USACE to provide a fleet of sport utility vehicles in Afghanistan.  To read Law360's coverage of the win, click HERE.