Hickman v. Kreisher, et al.

**Court Rules Army Corps Made Administrative Error in Contractor Evaluation** This case involved a dispute over how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handled performance evaluations for a government contractor. The problem arose when the Army Corps issued Contractor Performance Assessment Reports to the wrong company entity. They sent the reports to Tsontos Greece instead of Tsontos Romania, even though Tsontos Romania was the actual company that performed the contract work. The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiff, finding that the Army Corps violated federal contracting rules. Specifically, the government broke Federal Acquisition Regulation 42.1502(a) by sending these important performance evaluations to the wrong company entity. The court granted summary judgment, meaning the case was clear-cut enough to decide without a full trial. This ruling matters for workers because it shows that government agencies must follow proper procedures when evaluating contractors and their performance. Accurate performance evaluations are important because they can affect a company's ability to win future government contracts, which directly impacts job security and opportunities for employees. The decision reinforces that even administrative errors in government contracting processes have legal consequences.