Government Shutdown Appeal Win Is Cold Comfort to Contractors

A 2014 appeals board decision allowing an Army lab services contractor to recover full compensation despite being shut out by the October 2013 federal government shutdown is rare and remarkable—and only cold comfort for shutdown-wary government contractors.

The parties structured the contract in such a way that the contractor Amaratek became entitled to the full monthly payment once performance began, but “there are very few contractors similarly situated” to Amaratek, said Michael R. Rizzo, partner with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Los Angeles.

“If the government issues a stop work order because of a shutdown, the contractor will not get ...