Section 16.32 Government Requirement to Honor Acquisition Regulations

• Library: Construction Law 2016 Supp

C. (§16.32) Government Requirement to Honor Acquisition Regulations

G.L. Christian & Associates v. United States, 312 F.2d 418 (Ct. Cl. 1963), established the rule that clauses that are required by regulations to be included in a contract are incorporated into the contract by operation of law. The contract at issue did not contain a clause authorizing the government to terminate the contract for its convenience. But the Armed Services Procurement Regulations (ASPR) required that such a clause be inserted in certain contracts, including the contract at issue. The court ruled that because the ASPR “were issued under statutory authority, those regulations . . . had the force and effect of law.” Because they applied, “there was a legal requirement that the plaintiff’s contract contain the standard termination clause and the contract must be read as if it did.” Id. at 424.

In Condec Corp. v. United States, 369 F.2d 753 (Ct. Cl. 1966), a contractor submitted its bid on a project for the Army Corps of Engineers in the amount of $1,952,067. Before bid opening, the contractor sent a bid modification via Western Union. Western Union failed to deliver the modification on time. But at the bid opening it was determined that the...