The Air Force awarded a contract to Jones for the creation of an aircrew training system for the F-15 aircraft. During the course of performance, the government expressed displeasure with the pace of performance and one of the subcontractors. Jones complained of the negative impact on its costs and performance of the government's failure to pay progress payments..

On May 16, Jones warned the government that it would be unable to meet its payroll because of the government's breach of contract. The government responded with a cure notice on May 21. Jones and the contracting officer held several discussions in an attemkt to resolve the issues between them. On June 12, the contracting officer terminated the contract for default. That same day, unbeknownst to the contracting officer, Jones filed for bankruptcy. Jones received notice of the termination on June 14.

Jones appealed the default termination to the board of contract appeals claiming that the contracting offiver's actions violated the automatic stay provisions of the Bankruptcy Act. Jones also requested that the board grant relief for the termination for convenience claims fled simultaneously with the appeal of the default termination.

Questions:

Can the contractor invoke the automatic stay provisions of the Bankruptcy Ace despite the contracting officer's lack of knowledge of a bankruptcy proceeding at the time the termination was issued?

Was the contractor's filing of a termination for convenience claim premature in view of its filing of a petition for bankruptcy? Explain the rationale for your opinion.