Harbert International Files $461 Million Lawsuit Against State Department

B.L. Harbert International filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Wednesday, seeking 461,097,380 dollars in damages from the State Department. The complaint centers on construction work the company argues the government required it to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suit covers 12 diplomatic construction projects located across four continents. These sites include facilities in Turkey, Iraq, Thailand, Morocco, Mexico, and Central America. Harbert has built dozens of embassies and consulates over a period exceeding two decades. The company states it was working on 17 projects when the pandemic began, representing nearly two-thirds of the State Department’s embassy construction program at that time.

The dispute traces back to directives issued in 2020 during the first Trump administration. Harbert claims its contracts treated the pandemic as an excusable delay, which would have allowed it to secure sites and pause work. Instead, the company alleges State officials ordered it to keep workers ready, continue purchasing materials, and document costs for future reimbursement. A March 2020 message cited in the filing shows Harbert warning it could not sustain idle labor costs without guaranteed payment. Labor costs for the new embassy in Guatemala City alone reached approximately 1.3 million dollars per month.

According to the complaint, State Department leadership told Harbert to keep procuring and shipping materials to prevent the projects from falling behind others in the global queue. The company argues that working under pandemic restrictions increased expenses and reduced productivity. The government has taken possession of all 12 facilities involved in the suit, with some in use for more than three years.

The legal conflict spans three administrations. Harbert states that career officials agreed to a 370 million dollar settlement in September 2025. The company says the government paid only 501,636 dollars before reversing the agreement. Harbert alleges that political leaders intervened after the settlement was reached, with the decision to abandon the deal coming from top leadership. Fox News Digital has requested a comment from the State Department.

Harbert submitted more than 500 million dollars in claims for equitable adjustments. These included costs from the pandemic directives, alleged design changes, and government-caused delays. The company certified these claims in March 2026 after the State Department’s chief of staff suggested certification would help implement the settlement. Contracting officers began denying the claims in July 2026. By October 13, 2026, final decisions had been issued for all 13 certified claims included in the lawsuit.

The current suit seeks the 461 million dollar amount plus interest. It does not yet ask the court to enforce the 370 million dollar settlement, as those claims remain in the administrative process. Harbert reserves the right to add those claims in the future. Charles Bohn, president of B.L. Harbert’s International Group, said the company did not want to sue but felt a responsibility to its employees and the future of its work.

The company notes it has won roughly 60 embassy and consulate projects since 1999. Harbert argues that strict security and workforce-vetting requirements now limit some projects to only two or three qualified bidders. It contends that if contractors lose confidence that the State Department will honor its obligations, even fewer firms will bid on future work.