Costs of Reducing Maintenance Backlog Awarded

The Court of Federal Claims awarded a vehicle maintenance contractor and its subcontractor direct labor and material costs incurred in performing additional work on a government fleet because they sufficiently established the size of the maintenance backlog they assumed and the costs associated with reducing the backlog. In a prior decision on a claim brought on behalf of the subcontractor (49 CCF ¶78,427), the court concluded the contractor was entitled to special compensation for the government's breach of contract. The contract provided for recovery if the contractor inherited more than 355 labor hours' worth of repairs. However, the contractor was required to expend labor hours far in excess of that number to reduce the maintenance backlog, and the government compensated the contractor for only a portion of the additional work. Also, the government constructively changed the contract by ordering work that was beyond the contract requirements.