Can the Government skip an Option CLIN on a contract and still keep the contract open for future Option CLINs?  Basically there is no funding available for Option Year 1 (OY1) so I have been notified as such, but within the notification they indicated that they are still interested in the program and may have a need in the future.  The OY1 CLIN has a set PoP within the contract of 12 months and clearly defined dates or performance, as do OYs 2 thru 4.  The total PoP on the program is 5 years and the prime contract includes 52.217-8 and 52.217-9.  Can they decline OY1 and exercise say OY2 next year?  Or does the notification that OY1 is not being exercised end the contract since there would be no active PoP once the Base Year ends next month?  

Now there may be more current case law and discussion but I did find this(see link below) which if you follow the citations in it should help lead you to how your question applies to the specific language of your contract.   Just knowing the FAR clauses are in it is not enough, the whole contract needs to be scrutinized to determine the most correct answer to your question.

 

It depends on how the option is written.