A federal judge has dismissed part of a Justice Department claim that the Savannah River Site’s primary contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), and one of its parent companies, Fluor Federal Services (FFS), unjustly benefited from their contract with the Department of Energy.
On March 18, the Justice Department sued SRNS, the management and operations contractor for the DOE facility in South Carolina, and Fluor, claiming they had overcharged the government by $5 million by filing 573 unlawful reimbursement claims, spanning from Oct. 8, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2015. The lawsuit charges that the companies knowingly overcharged the federal government to pay for home office expenses and bid and proposal costs — a direct violation of the M&O contract and of the cost transfer agreement that says the allocation of home office costs is unallowable under the deal.
On Dec. 6, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs granted SRNS’ request to dismiss the claim for “unjust enrichment,” meaning SRNS and Fluor wrongfully benefited from the contract. She also dismissed the claim for payment by mistake – a situation in which the federal government alleged it was wrongly required to make payments to the companies.
According to Childs, the government’s claims are “unpersuasive.”
At the same time, the judge denied SRNS’ request to dismiss the false claims charges related to the home office expenses and bid proposals. However, she is honoring the federal contractor’s request to refer the matters to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) for an advisory opinion on the matter. The order states the judge wants an opinion from the CBCA on the matter before issuing her ruling. “The motion may be renewed or refiled upon the court’s receipt of the advisory opinion and lifting of the stay,” Childs wrote.
