Have you ever played hide and seek?  If you are the seeker, do you win the game when you find the hidden person?  Yes, of course!

Unless, you’re a government contractor seeking “hidden” requirements that seem to pop-up around every corner.  Just when it seems you’ve found the answer, requirement, specification, or drawing detail, the government replies that you missed something and should have kept seeking.

Do not fear, you may yet win this round.  Give notice, track your costs, and organize the documents supporting your position.  Later you may submit a claim.

Under a recent design-build project for the U.S. Navy, the contractor submitted claims for extra work on the construction of a dormitory at Aviano Air Base in Italy.  Although the ASBCA denied the appeal because the contractor didn’t consider the many requirements that were incorporated into the contract by reference (not verbatim), the case provides a good lesson for contractor’s –

When it seems you’ve found the answer, keep looking to ensure the answer doesn’t change.

Appeals of A.T.I. Tacose S.C.a R.L., ASBCA Nos. 59157 and 59200 (Jan. 4, 2017).