The contractor submitted a claim more than six years after it accrued. The contractor said it was delayed while waiting for the agency to respond to a FOIA request. If your claim has already accrued, a FOIA request doesn’t toll the statute of limitations.
J. Star Enterprises, Inc. v. United States, COFC No. 23-013
- The Claim – The contractor completed work 86 days late. The agency assessed liquidated damages in September 2015. More than six years later, in November 2021, the contractor submitted a claim contesting liquidated damages. The agency didn’t respond. The contractor filed suit from the deemed denial in January 2023.
- Untimely Claim – Under the CDA, a contractor must submit a claim to the agency within six years of accrual. Here, the contractor’s claim accrued in September 2015. The contractor didn’t present a claim until November 2021. The claim was barred by the CDA’s statute of limitations.
- Untimely Suit – The CDA allows contractors one year to challenge an adverse final decision in the COFC. In this case, the agency issued a final decision on liquidated damages in 2015. The contractor didn’t file a COFC action until 2023. The claim was thus late under both provisions of the CDA’s statute of limitations.
- FOIA Request – The contractor alleged its claims and suit were delayed because it waited so long for the agency to respond to a FOIA request. The court noted the contractor had not shown that a FOIA request tolls the statute of limitations. In any event, it wasn’t clear the FOIA request was essential to the claim. The contractor conceded the agency’s response contained minimal information.
The contractor is represented by Jason R. Anders of Anders Law Firm, LLC. The government is represented by Kyle B. Beckrich, Deborah A. Bynum, Patricia M. McCarthy, and Brian M. Boynton of the Department of Justice as well as Captain Natalie W. McKiernan of Army Legal Services Agency.
–Case summary by Craig LaChance, Senior Editor
