Raytheon Company

CourtArmed Services Board of Contract Appeals
DecidedApril 17, 2017
DocketASBCA No. 57743, 57798, 58280
StatusPublished

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Bluebook
Raytheon Company, (asbca 2017).

Opinion

ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS

Appeals of -- ) ) Raytheon Company ) ASBCA Nos. 57743, 57798, 58280 ) Under Contract No. W31 P4Q-04-C-0020 )

APPEARANCES FOR THE APPELLANT: Karen L. Manos, Esq. John W.F. Chesley, Esq. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Washington, DC .

APPEARANCES FOR THE GOVERNMENT: E. Michael Chiaparas, Esq. DCMA Chief Trial Attorney Stephen R. Dooley, Esq. Senior Trial Attorney Alexander M. Healy, Esq. Kathleen P. Malone, Esq. Trial Attorneys Defense Contract Management Agency Boston, MA

OPINION BY ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE SCOTT

Raytheon Company has appealed under the Contract Disputes Act, 41 U.S.C. §§ 7101-7109 (CDA), from three final decisions of Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) contracting officers (COs). The appeals are consolidated for disposition. In the decision at issue in ASBCA No. 57443, DCMA's corporate administrative CO (CACO) demanded the return of alleged government payments of allegedly expressly unallowable costs. He assessed penalties and interest against Raytheon for including the costs in its corporate incurred cost rate proposal for 2004 (2004 Corporate Proposal). In the other decisions, at issue in ASBCA Nos. 57798 and 58280, DCMA's divisional administrative CO (DACO) assessed penalties and interest against Raytheon for including alleged expressly unallowable costs in the incurred cost rate proposals of its Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) business segment for 2004 and 2005. In addition to cost allowability questions, ASBCA No. 57743 focuses upon Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 42.709-5(c)'s penalty waiver provisions. In ASBCA Nos. 57798 and 58280, Raytheon does not raise penalty waiver; it advocates that the costs at issue were not expressly unallowable and thus were not subject to penalties. The Board held a 10-day hearing on entitlement 1 in Boston, Massachusetts. Thereafter the Board denied Raytheon's motion to strike certain of the CACO's testimony and related evidence and granted the government's motion to strike certain materials proffered by Raytheon in support of its motion. Raytheon Company, ASBCA No. 57743 et al., 16-1 BCA, 36,335 (Raytheon I).

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Contract and Relevant FAR Provisions

1. Raytheon, an international high technology company, maintains its Corporate Office at its Waltham, Massachusetts headquarters, as it did in calendar years (CYs) 2004 and 2005. It provides systems and solutions for defense, homeland security and other government markets. (Supp. R4, tab 244 at 261 O; tr. 3/46; 2nd amend. comp I. and answer , 9; gov't proposed findings offact2 (GPFF), 1) Contract No. W31P4Q-04-C-0020, in the amount of$134,439,577.46, between Raytheon and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, which the parties ultimately agreed would serve as the representative contract in these appeals, was effective on 30 January 2004. The contract identified itself as a Labor-Hour, Time-and-Materials, Services and Research and Development contract. Performance of all travel, other direct costs, and material efforts was on a Cost-Plus-Fixed- Fee basis, subject to the FAR 52.216-7, ALLOWABLE COST AND PAYMENT (DEC 2002) clause, which the contract incorporated by reference. DCMA administered the contract, which was for engineering services associated with the Patriot Weapon System. The contract also incorporated by reference the FAR 52.230-2, COST ACCOUNTING STANDARDS [CAS] (APR 1998); and FAR 52.242-3, PENAL TIES FOR UNALLOWABLE COSTS (MAY 2001) clauses. (Supp. R4, tab 392 at 1-3, 136, 173-74) FAR Part 31 contains cost principles and procedures concerning the allowance of costs under the contract. See FAR 31.000.

1 The parties included proposed fact findings that essentially pertain to disputed quantum issues, including Raytheon's contention that "any penalties upheld by the Board must be reduced by the amount associated with subcontracts or contracts closed using the quick-closeout procedure" (app. reply hr. at 33). At least one of the issues - whether Raytheon was paid for the costs upon which the government has assessed penalties and interest - bears upon entitlement as well as quantum. These appeals involve government claims and it has the burden of proof on payment. Alaska Aerospace Corp., ASBCA No. 59794, 16-1 BCA , 36,498 at 177 ,842. However, the current record is insufficient for the Board to decide that question, which the government apparently considered to be part of a quantum determination (e.g., gov't reply br. at 37-38). Because the payment issue is so closely intertwined with quantum, the Board reserves it and the other quantum issues for any quantum proceedings. 2 Unless otherwise indicated, all cited proposed findings of fact are undisputed.

2 2. Among others addressed below, the following relevant statutory and FAR provisions were in effect at the time of Raytheon's contract award and indirect cost rate proposals in question and remain substantially the same:

Title 10 U.S.C. § 2324, Allowable costs under defense contracts, provides that:

(a) Indirect Cost That Violates a FAR Cost Principle.- The head of an agency shall require that a covered contract provide that if the contractor submits to the agency a proposal for settlement of indirect costs incurred by the contractor for any period after such costs have been accrued and ifthat proposal includes the submission of a cost which is unallowable because the cost violates a cost principle in the [FAR] or applicable agency supplement to the [FAR], the cost shall be disallowed.

(b) Penalty for Violation of cost principle.-

(1) If the head of the agency determines that a cost submitted by a contractor in its proposal for settlement is expressly unallowable under a cost principle referred to in subsection (a) that defines the allowability of specific selected costs, the head of the agency shall assess a penalty against the contractor in an amount equal to-

(A) the amount of the disallowed cost allocated to covered contracts for which a proposal for settlement of indirect costs has been submitted; plus

(B) interest...to compensate the United States for the use of any funds which a contractor has been paid in excess of the amount to which the contractor was entitled.

(2) If the head of the agency determines that a proposal for settlement for indirect costs submitted by a contractor includes a cost determined to be unallowable in the case of such contractor before the submission of such proposal, the head of the agency shall assess a penalty against the contractor in an amount equal to two times the amount of the

3 disallowed cost allocated to covered contracts for which a proposal for settlement of indirect costs has been submitted.

(c) Waiver of Penalty .-The [FAR] shall provide for a penalty under subsection (b) to be waived in the case of a contractor's proposal for settlement of indirect costs when-

(3) The contractor demonstrates, to the [CO's] satisfaction, that-

(A) it has established appropriate policies and personnel training and an internal control and review system that provide assurances that unallowable costs subject to penalties are precluded from being included in the contractor's proposal for settlement of indirect costs; and

(B) the unallowable costs subject to the penalty were inadvertently incorporated into the proposal.

(Italicized emphasis added)

The Allowable Cost and Payment clause provides that "[f]inal annual indirect cost rates and the appropriate bases shall be established in accordance with Subpart 42.

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