Huffman Construction, LLC

Material Facts

• The Corps awarded Huffman Contract No. W912EQ-14-C-0028 for completion of the Grand Prairie Pumping Station, including installation of government-furnished pumps and motors.
• The final contract completion date established by bilateral Modification No. P00018 was December 15, 2019.
• Huffman did not complete the work by the contract completion date.
• The contract required Huffman to install and test the government-furnished equipment and to perform pump and motor work under the guidance of factory-trained manufacturer representatives.
• The contract required schedule updates using a critical-path network and stated that time extensions would not be granted unless delay impacted the critical path, consumed available float or contingency time, and extended work beyond the completion date.
• The pump and motor work was not shown on Huffman's contemporaneous schedule updates as controlling the project's critical path.
• Huffman did not provide measurement data showing that the sole plates were installed within the required tolerance when installed.
• Huffman did not identify a specific defect in the government-furnished pumps or motors.
• Huffman's progress on non-pump and motor work was slow, the project remained at 95% completion for an extended period, and Huffman's workforce declined before termination.
• Huffman's delay expert inserted pump-delay and removal-and-reinstallation activities into schedules and treated the resulting period as excusable delay.
• The contracting officer issued a pre-termination letter and final decision addressing Huffman's performance failures and asserted excuses.
• The contracting officer terminated the contract for default on March 31, 2020.

Parties

Appellant

Huffman Construction, LLC

Respondent Agency

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Contracting Agency

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Contract Number

W912EQ-14-C-0028