Award Fee Determination Must Be Made By Designated Official

As part of the long-running saga of the operation of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant in Colorado, the Court of Federal Claims in The Boeing Co. v. United States. (Jan. 17, 2007) has held the Department of Energy in breach because, after the initiation of an investigation of the contractor, the Secretary's office mandated lower award fees than DOE's Rocky Flats Manager had independently determined. Restoring the independent determinations, the court found that, when the contract specifies the individual who is to make the determination (here the Manager), his superiors may not override that determination without breaching the contract.