Contractor Logs Victory in Termination Case at Federal Circuit

In EM Logging v. Department of Agriculture, 2014-1227 (Feb. 20, 2015), the Federal Circuit reversed the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, holding that substantial evidence did not support the Board's conclusion that the US Forest Service had properly terminated a timber sale contract for "flagrant disregard" of the terms of the contract. On appeal, the court found that the record supported only four instances of route deviation, load limit violations, or delayed notifications, and held that the contractor's actions did not justify termination because termination for "flagrant disregard" must be "predicated on more than technical breaches of minor contract provisions or isolated breaches of material contract provisions which caused no damage."