REAs, Claims, Appeals

The Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (CDA) is the earliest statutory authority for the use of informal, expedited dispute resolution methods in contract disputes. The CDA requires the Boards of Contract Appeals (BCA) to provide “to the fullest extent practicable…informal, expeditious, and inexpensive resolution of disputes.” 41 U.S.C. § 7105(g). The CDA was designed...

The Contract Disputes Act (CDA) allows contractors to exclusively choose the forum to challenge a Contracting Officer’s (CO) adverse Final Decision, including a deemed denial, on a contract claim. The contractor has two options: (1) file suit in the United States Court of Federal Claims (COFC); or (2) appeal to the appropriate agency’s board...

A request for equitable adjustment (REA) is a contractor’s proposal to the contracting officer (CO) seeking an equitable increase to the contract price based on a change to the contract requirements. Typically, when the contractor discovers some unexpected problem that is not contemplated by the contract, the contractor and the CO will negotiate a...