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Government Contracts

Government Contracts

Cooper & Kirk has broad and deep experience litigating contract claims against the federal government in various forums, including administrative agencies, trial and appellate courts, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Our clients in these matters have included companies in numerous industries, from banking to aviation to automotive to hi-tech to energy, and have ranged all the way from small concerns to the Fortune 500. As the LEGAL TIMES put it, Cooper & Kirk is the “go-to firm” when it comes to suing the federal government.

Cooper & Kirk attorneys’ experience in government contract litigation pre-dates the formation of the firm itself. Mr. Cooper and other attorneys now at C&K successfully litigated the landmark case of Winstar v. United States from the trial court (the U.S. Claims Court, now known as the U.S Court of Federal Claims), through the appellate courts, and all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s ultimate decision in Winstar resolved vitally important questions concerning whether the United States could be held liable for breach when Congress passed legislation pre-venting federal banking agencies from honoring their contractual obligations arising out of our clients’ acquisition of failing savings and loan institutions. Cooper & Kirk then litigated more than a dozen similar “Winstar-related” cases, and helped our clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars in breach of contract damages from the federal government. C&K has since represented clients in other industries in breach of contract litigation against the United States, and has helped many of those clients recover tens of millions of dollars in damages.

Cooper & Kirk also has extensive experience litigating bid protests, including protests affecting the awards of multi-billion dollar defense contracts. And we have litigated complex cases raising questions concerning cost accounting rules applicable to government contracts as well as cases raising claims concerning the interpretation and application of provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation and government contractors’ liability under the federal False Claims Act.

In short, no matter the size of either the client or the stakes, and no matter how complex the issues, our attorneys bring to the table the expertise, dedication, and judgment that is needed to achieve a successful outcome in government contract disputes.

Issue
Challenged the DOD's Contract Award for Aerial Refueling Tankers
Level of Court
US Court of Federal Claims

Overview As counsel for Boeing, we successfully challenged the Department of Defense’s award of a contract to replace the United States’ aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers to a competing bidder. On rebid, Boeing won the contract, which was worth tens of billions of dollars.

Issue
Government Breach of Contract -Acquisition of Failed Savings & Loans
Level of Court
United States Supreme Court

Overview We represented the Winstar Corporation and the Statesman Savings Holding Corporation in claims against the United States for breach of its contractual obligations to our clients arising out of their acquisition of failed savings and loan institutions from government regulators. We represented these clients in the Court of Federal Claims (where the United States was found liable), in the Federal Circuit (affirming the findings of liability after rehearing the case en banc), and in the Supreme Court. Mr. Cooper argued the case before the Supreme Court, which upheld the findings of liability and remanded the cases for determination of damages by the lower court.

Issue
SpaceX Lawsuit Over Contract Award
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - Federal Circuit

Overview We successfully represented ULA in a major bid protest brought by SpaceX challenging the award and execution of a five-year contract with the Air Force, valued at $11 billion, for 27 rockets to launch national security satellites into orbit. SpaceX ultimately agreed to dismiss the protest with prejudice under terms that honored all of the Air Force’s contractual obligations to ULA.

Issue
Redemption of US Savings Bonds
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - Federal Circuit

Overview We represented the Arkansas State Auditor in an attempt to redeem numerous United States Savings Bonds that were last held by residents of Arkansas and that have matured long ago but have never been redeemed. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims entered partial summary judgment in our favor declaring Arkansas the valid owner of the bonds, but the Federal Circuit reversed.

Issue
Government Breach of Contract
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - Federal Circuit

Overview We successfully represented EmpowerIT (formerly known as Marketing and Management Information, Inc. (“MMI”)), in a breach of contract action against the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The lawsuit stemmed from the decision of the Defense Commissary Agency (“DeCA”) (an agency within the Department of Defense) to terminate a sale/exchange contract between MMI and DeCA, pursuant to which DeCA agreed to provide MMI with raw “scanner data” pertaining to sales at commissaries and MMI agreed to process that data and to perform certain category management support services for DeCA. The trial court granted our summary judgment motion on liability. After extensive discovery, the government agreed to settle the case on the eve of trial.

Issue
Government Breach of Contract
Level of Court
US Court of Federal Claims

Overview This case culminated in a five-week trial arising from the government’s breach of contract. We sought lost profits that would have been generated by our client, absent the breach. At the conclusion of trial, the case settled on favorable terms.

Issue
Government Breach of Contract - B24 Bombers / Environmental Cleanup
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - Federal Circuit

Overview We successfully represented Ford Motor Company in a breach of contract suit against the United States arising from a World War II contract for the manufacture of B-24 Liberation Bombers. Ford sought to recover the environmental cleanup costs it has incurred in connection with Ford’s performance of the cost-plus-a-fixed-fee contract. The Federal Circuit reversed the trial court and ruled in Ford’s favor.