Originally posted 2016-05-12 15:05:50.
For this week’s Guest Post Friday here at Construction Law Musings, we welcome Greg Shelton. Greg is an attorney with Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes, P.A., a law firm with offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Rock Hill, South Carolina. Greg is licensed to practice in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, and he is Florida Board Certified as an expert in construction law. Greg serves on the council that governs the Construction Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association, and he is managing editor of the North Carolina Construction Law Deskbook, the definitive treatise on construction law in North Carolina. Greg authors the Construction Law Carolinas blog where he regularly posts on topics concerning the construction industry in North Carolina and South Carolina. Greg is active with the Associated Builders and Contractors of the Carolinas, the USGBC, and the HCAC, where he serves on its board of directors and as its treasurer.
Last week, Chris served as guest blogger on Construction Law Carolinas, posting “Get Ready for a ‘Green’ World of Construction“. Chris has graciously returned the favor, inviting me to present the latest installment in my series Federal Contracting, Construction Law Carolinas Style, here at Construction Law Musings.
In my previous post, I discussed the importance of asserting a claim in clear unequivocal terms. Assuming the contractor has made a timely and valid claim, the contracting officer must render a decision on the claim, usually (but not always) within 60 days of receipt of the contractor’s written request. If the contracting officer denies the claim, the contractor can either accept the decision or appeal.
If the contractor decides to appeal the contracting officer’s decision, the contractor has a decision to make. Under the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”), the contractor may elect to submit the appeal to either the United States Court of Federal Claims (“CFC”) or to the agency board of contract appeals (“BCA”). There are several BCA’s in existence, but ten formerly distinct BCA’s were consolidated in 2007 into the “Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.” Sometimes things do get simpler.
