Duane Morris LLP Properly Hired for Afghanistan Lease Appeal

Duane Morris LLP is the proper legal representative for lessors seeking nearly $28 million in allegedly unpaid rent under Afghanistan real property leases with the U.S. Army despite the U.S. government’s contention that the firm wasn’t properly hired, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals said.

Declarations establish that heirs of the property owners authorized agents to appoint a subagent who hired Duane Morris, Administrative Judge James R. Sweet said in an opinion made public on Thursday.

A principal may authorize a subagent to act on the principal’s behalf through an agent if the principal authorizes the agent to do so, the board said.

The board also said the heirs submitted claim certifications that satisfied the Contract Disputes Act.

The government argued that certifications were defective for not stating the amounts it allegedly owes each individual heir.

But such detail wasn’t necessary to give the government adequate notice of the basis and amount of the claim, the board said.

Each lease is with a group of heirs jointly, so any government liability on a particular lease is to a group of heirs instead of a particular specific heir, the board said.

Duane Morris LLP represented the appellants.

The case is Lessors of Abchakan Village, ASBCA, No. 61787, 7/22/21, decision released 11/4/21.