The contractor submitted a claim seeking damages for a constructive termination. The agency said that due to workload/staffing problems and the complexity of the issues raised, it needed over a year to issue a final decision. The ASBCA didn’t accept the government’s rationale. The claim was not especially complex, and staffing issues are no excuse for delay. The board ordered the government to act with a little more haste.
Appeal of ANHAM FZCO, ASBCA No. 63325-PET
Background
ANHAM FZCO had an IDIQ contract with the Defense Logistics Agency as a subsistence vendor in Afghanistan. The contract’s term extended through April 2025. But in 2021, the U.S withdrew all troops from Afghanistan. ANHAM believed this withdrawal had constructively terminated the contract. ANHAM submitted a claim to DLA in March 2022, seeking damages for the alleged constructive termination.
Sixty days after receiving the claim, DLA notified ANHAM that due to workload issues and the complexity of the claim, it would not be issuing a final decision on the claim until April 2023. ANHAM filed an appeal with the ASBCA, petitioning the board to direct DLA to issue a decision sooner.
Analysis
DLA claimedit needed 13 months to issue a decision due to workload issues and because the issue was so complex. The board wasn’t buying it. Internal staffing matters should not impact an agency’s ability to issue a decision. Additionally, the board reasoned, this claim, at least on its face, did not seem so complex that it required additional time to assess. The board directed DLA to issue a decision by December 2022.
ANHAM is represented by Richard P. Rector, Dawn E. Stern, and Christie M. Alvarez of DLA Piper LLP. The government is represented by Danile K. Poling, Kelly L. Diaz-Alterini, Lindsay A. Salamon, Ryan P. Hallisey and Robert L. Kieffer of the Defense Logistics Agency.
