The contractor must prove that the error is of the type that may be compensable, and that the contracting officer knew or should have known of the mistake at the time the bid was accepted. Aydin Corp. v. United States, 229 Ct.Cl. 309, 669 F.2d 681, 686 (1982); Wender Presses, Inc. v. United States, 170 Ct.Cl. 483, 343 F.2d 961, 962 (1965).Ruggiero v. United States, 190 Ct.Cl. 327, 420 F.2d 709, 713 (1970).

Ruggiero, 420 F.2d at 713. In Aydin Corp. v. United States, 669 F.2d 681, 685 (Ct.Cl. 1982), the Court of Claims found that plaintiff's mistake in its estimate was nothing more than plaintiff underestimating the cost of materials, and hence, its bid. In that case, plaintiff did not show that its estimate was a clear cut clerical or arithmetical error, nor was there a claim of misreading specifications.

It is apparently well settled government contract law that reformation, based upon a mistake in bidding, is available to correct only "clear cut clerical or arithmetical error, or misreading of specifications." Aydin Corp. v. United States, 229 Ct.Cl. 309, 314, 669 F.2d 681, 685 (1982) (quoting Ruggiero v. United States, 190 Ct.Cl. 327, 335, 420 F.2d 709, 713 (1970)). According to the district court's findings, errors in judgment predominated in this case.

mistakes uniformly evaluates the duty only in instances where the alleged error was contained in a contractor's original bid, not in other subsequently submitted papers. See McClure Elec. Constructors, Inc. v. Dalton, 132 F.3d 709, 710 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (determining whether contracting officer discharged her duty to inform contractor of disparities between government estimate and contractor's estimate); Liebherr, 810 F.2d at 1155 (noting that the Navy immediately noted the wide disparity between contractor's bid and the range of the other responsive proposals); Bromley Contracting Co. v. United States, 794 F.2d 669, 671 (Fed. Cir. 1986) (asking whether contracting officer had constructive knowledge of error in bid due to disparity between contractor's bid and other responsive bid); Hamilton, 711 F.2d at 1044 (asking whether government buyer adequately informed contractor of discrepancy between government estimate of required manhours and manhours allocated to job in contractor's bid); Aydin Corp. v. United States, 229 Ct.Cl. 309, 669 F.2d 681, 683 (1982) (determining whether contracting officer had constructive knowledge of clerical oversights in bid); Ruggiero v. United States, 190 Ct.Cl. 327, 420 F.2d 709, 713 (1970) (inquiring whether contracting officer had constructive knowledge of improper designation in bid); Chernick v. United States, 178 Ct.Cl. 498, 372 F.2d 492, 495 (1967) (determining whether contracting officer had constructive knowledge of arithmetical mistake in bid); Wender Presses, Inc. v. United States, 170 Ct.Cl. 483, 343 F.2d 961, 962 (1965) (asking whether contracting officer had constructive knowledge of mistake in bid due to spread in submitted bids). We can discern no support through these cases that the government's duty to examine bids for mistakes also requires the government to examine the correctness of all of a contractor's subsequent filings.

The very authorities on which Gillen relies emphasize that the error must be arithmetical, clerical, or a misreading of the contract specifications, as opposed to a mistake in judgment. Ruggiero, 420 F.2d at 713; see also C L Constr. Co., 6 Cl.Ct. at 801 n. 2; BCM Corp., 2 Cl.Ct. at 610; Aydin Corp. v. United States, 669 F.2d 681, 685, 229 Ct.Cl. 309 (1982). Gillen's mistaken assumption that Valders would be able to supply conforming stone was not this kind of scrivener's error. It cannot therefore be redressed through equitable reformation of the contract, even assuming that Lake Forest was aware of the mistake.

It is well established that an erroneous bid based, like this one, upon a mistake in judgment does not entitle the contractor to reformation of its contract. Hamilton, 711 F.2d at 1048; see also Aydin Corp. v. United States, 669 F.2d 681, 685, 229 Ct.Cl. 309, (1982); American Ship Building Co. v. United States, 654 F.2d 75, 80, 228 Ct.Cl. 220 (1981); National Line Co. v. United States, 607 F.2d 978, 984, 221 Ct.Cl. 673 (1979). On that basis we refuse to indulge Liebherr's attempt to take advantage of its own gross neglect and choice in failing properly to examine and follow the specifications.

A contract will not be reformed because of a unilateral mistake in a bid unless the contractor establishes that the error resulted from a "clear cut clerical or arithmetical error, or a misreading of the specifications." Aydin Corp. v. United States, 669 F.2d 681 (Ct.Cl. 1982); Ruggiero v. United States, 420 F.2d 709 (Ct.Cl. 1970). In such cases, the degree of proof demanded for reformation is higher than where rescission is requested.

Under the doctrine of unilateral mistake, "a contractor may obtain a remedy from the Government for a mistaken bid . . . only if the contracting officer knew or should have known of the contractor's unilateral mistake at the time the bid was accepted." Bromley Contracting Co. v. United States, 794 F.2d 669, 671-72 (Fed. Cir. 1986) (citing Aydin Corp. v. United States, 669 F.2d 681, 686 (Ct.Cl. 1982); Wender Presses, Inc. v. United States, 343 F.2d 961, 962-63 (Ct.Cl. 1965)). To succeed, plaintiff must satisfy a two-part test.