Request for Relief for Contract Default

A company requested relief from the denial of its consolidated appeals by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals on the issues of the propriety of default termination of its contract and the assessment of reprocurement costs incurred as the result of repurchase of defaulted supplies. The company asserted that it made an obvious bid error which the contracting officer should have recognized, thus making the mistake mutual and qualifying the protester for contractual relief. GAO held that the contracting officer properly satisfied error detection and verification obligations; therefore, acceptance of the protester's low bid consummated a valid and binding contract which was neither improper nor unconscionable. The mistake was not mutual where the contract clearly expressed the intention of the parties. Therefore, rescission or reformation of the contract to preclude reprocurement costs would not be proper. There was no legal basis for granting relief.