Law Commons^™

Affirmatively Inefficient Jurisprudence?: Confusing Contractors’ Rights To Raise Affirmative Defenses With Sovereign Immunity, Steven L. Schooner, Pamela Kovacs

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In M. Maropakis Carpentry v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upset the commonly understood rules of practice and procedure for government contracts dispute litigation. In what the Supreme Court might view as a drive-by jurisdictional ruling, the court held that a contractor must file its own claim for time extensions before it can defend against a government claim for liquidated damages. Two Court of Federal Claims cases then confirmed fears that the decision would create a significant, disruptive, and disadvantageous change in procedural posture for a large number of contractors defending against government …