Federal contractors are winning a safeguard against the government\u2019s practice of moving to dismiss cases brought under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA) for lack of jurisdiction in the late stages of litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recent decisions have accelerated a trend started in 2014 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It kicked into high gear this year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that it would treat a procedural requirement as jurisdictional \u201conly if Congress \u2018clearly states\u2019 that it is.\u201d The high court\u2019s decision in Wilkins v. United States warned of the \u201crisk of disruption and waste that accompanies the jurisdictional label.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Federal Circuit expanded on this line of thought in August 2023 with its decision in ECC Int’l Constructors, LLC v. Sec’y of Army, holding that the \u201csum certain\u201d requirement for CDA claims is not jurisdictional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n