When design specifications are wrong contractors are entitled to recovery of extra costs while performance specifications do not entitle contractor to such recovery. It is quite common for the government to attempt to disguise the existence of design specs by inserting different types of disclaimers in order to lessen the government’s liability. In White v. Edsall Construction Co.,CAFC No. 01-1628 the contract to construct a facility to house helicopters included specifications for hanging doors weighing 21,000 pounds. A government structural engineer inserted in the drawings a statement saying contractors "must verify prior to bidding." Though the contractor saw nothing obviously wrong with the specs before bidding it discovered after award the door design would not work and submitted a claim of $70,000 to correct the design.

After determining the contract contained design and not performance specifications, the Court stated there was an implied warranty the design specs are free from design defects. General disclaimers to check drawings do not overcome this warranty. The drawings noted in this case only required the contractor to verify the details listed. It did not warn the contractor the design might be flawed nor require the contractor to verify the design would work. This argument is frequently put forth by the government, apparently believing that general disclaimers can transfer the government’s responsibility for design accuracy to the contractor.

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