Contractors take heed – a time extension may be issued after substantial completion for specific work and the Government can still assess liquidated damages.
Under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a Contractor agreed to construct facilities for support services, site logistics, and command in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Government assessed LDs for delayed substantial completion. Several months later, after the Contractor had demobilized from the Project site, the Government issued an RFP for extra work. The Government accepted the Contractor’s pricing proposal for the extra work and established a deadline for completion of the same.
In its Certified Claim and on Appeal to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Contractor unsuccessfully argued the award of extra work extended the overall deadline for substantial completion of the original scope of work. The bilateral Modification for the extra work provided in part, “This Period of Performance covers work under this modification only, not for the overall contract.”
The Board’s opinion doesn’t discuss what sort of extra work was performed. Presumably, the use or benefit of the overall Project did not depend upon completion of the extra work.
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