CBCA 7283

DENIED: July 24, 2023 CBCA 7283 ADVENTUS TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Respondent. Ibrahim D. Iscandri, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Adventus Technologies, Inc., Houston, TX, appearing for Appellant. Jennifer T. Newbold, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Agriculture, Missoula, MT, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges LESTER, KULLBERG, and SULLIVAN. LESTER, Board Judge. Appellant, Adventus Technologies, Inc. (ATI), appeals a contracting officer’s decision terminating for cause ATI’s purchase order for janitorial services. Under that purchase order, ATI was required to provide janitorial services several times a week at an office of the United States Forest Service (USFS). At a certain point, ATI notified a contract specialist for the USFS that its janitorial employee had quit, that it would let her know when ATI had found someone new, and that the hiring process might take some time. After this disclosure, the USFS contracting officer issued a cure notice, complaining that ATI had stopped providing services. After three weeks without services, and with no response to his cure notice, the USFS contracting officer terminated ATI’s contract for cause, an action that ATI believes was unjustified. The parties have submitted this appeal for decision on the written CBCA 7283 2 record under Board Rule 19 (48 CFR 6101.19 (2021)). For the reasons discussed below, we sustain the contracting officer’s termination of ATI’s contract for cause and deny ATI’s appeal. Background ATI’s Purchase Order On March 18, 2020, the USFS awarded purchase order no. 12034320P0096 to ATI. Under that purchase order, ATI was to provide janitorial services for the USFS at the Idaho Panhandle National Forest’s offices in Avery, Idaho. Appeal File, Exhibit 1 at 1-2.1 The base period of performance ran from May 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021, but the USFS had the option to extend services on an annual basis for four additional years, up to and including March 31, 2025. Id. The main building of the Idaho Panhandle National Forest’s offices contained three floors and approximately 6600 square feet of office space (inclusive of common areas) with four bathrooms. Exhibit 1 at 22. Between May and September of each year, the contractor was required to clean the main building three times a week, and, between October and April, the contractor was to clean it two times a week. Id. at 5, 22.2 A nearby 500-square-foot, single-story warehouse with two bathrooms was considered a part of the office and covered by the purchase order. Id. at 22. The warehouse was to be cleaned three days a week but only from May to September. Id. at 5, 22. The purchase order required ATI to maintain the offices “in a clean condition and . . . provide supplies, materials, and equipment to adequately maintain the premises at an acceptable level.” Exhibit 1 at 24. To that effect, it contained “Performance Standards and Guideline Requirements” that the contractor was required to satisfy throughout performance, id. at 22, which were designed to meet “the industry standard of providing the intended level of services.” Id. at 24. Minimum standards included that “[a]ll space covered by this contract shall be free of obvious dirt, debris, and dust”; that “[t]rash cans shall be emptied and kept clean and free of dirt, stains, and debris, and replace liners”; that “[f]urniture and 1 All exhibits are found in the appeal file, unless otherwise noted. 2 The purchase order also seems to indicate that each cleaning required five, six, or seven workers, depending on the facility being cleaned and the season. See Exhibit 1 at 5-7. It appears, however, that ATI had only one janitorial services employee for the contract. The record does not reflect that the USFS ever objected to ATI’s use of a single employee to work this purchase order, and the USFS does not raise any such objection in its briefing. CBCA 7283 3 all surfaces shall be free of obvious dust and dirt”; and that “all resilient floors” be “clean and shine.” Id. at 24-25. The purchase order included the clause titled “Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (Oct 2018)” from Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-4 (48 CFR 52.212-4 (2019)). See Exhibit 1 at 1, 9-11.