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Volume 5 - Number 46 | November 19, 2007

EDITOR'S NOTES
When national security went from threat condition alpha to delta on Sept. 11, 2001, business as usual changed for many industries beyond just the transportation sector. Perhaps most notable was the essential lockdown of most government facilities, including military installations. At Fort Benning, Georgia, a contractor was barred from entering the Army installation for almost six weeks following the attacks. Now, six years later, the ASBCA has determined that the contractor could not seek delay damages associated with the temporary work stoppage because the contractor’s exclusion from the compound was deemed a sovereign act. In addition to this week’s summary of the case, the 22-page decision of the ASBCA is worthy of a review for contractors that work on government projects.
Also this week, we look at the technical difference between a supplier and a subcontractor as they relate to a dispute involving steel fabrication. And, a jilted low bidder is unsuccessful in its attempt to win a contract. Past performance proves to be its downfall.


EXCLUSION ORDER SUSPENDS CONTRACTOR’S WORK WITHOUT COMPENSATION
Heightened security measures at U.S. military installations immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, barred non-essential contractors from base access. The ASBCA rules that the restrictions were a matter of national security and a contractor could not expect monetary compensation for the time lost.]

OFF-SITE STEEL FABRICATOR CHARACTERIZED AS SUBCONTRACTOR
Project-specific fabrication work qualifies a steel fabricator as a subcontractor, not a supplier, when a payment dispute prompts the fabricator’s supplier to seek compensation through a public works payment bond.]

LOW BIDDER NONRESPONSIBLE DESPITE STATE CERTIFICATE
A bidder’s state certificate coupled with the low bid does not guarantee its success in securing a sewer contract. A record of shoddy past performance sinks its bid protest.