GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)

The Court of Federal Claims in American Gov’t Props. & Houma SSA v. United States recently restated the general prohibition on assignment of federal government contracts and laid out the necessary steps contractors must follow in order to avoid an improper assignment of a lease agreement.

The case involved a contract to design, build and then lease to the Social Security Administration an office building in Houma, Louisiana. The General Services Administration (GSA) terminated the contract for default citing lack of progress. The plaintiffs brought suit alleging termination was improper and sought damages as a result of the alleged breach of contract. The defendant moved to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiff lacked standing to maintain suit against the government due to an improper assignment of the contract. The defendant alleged that the contract was assigned to Houma SSA, LLC (Houma) by American Government Properties (AGP), the original contracting party in violation of the Contracts Act.Continue Reading Can a contractor assign their leasing agreement with the federal government to another party?