American Renovation & Construction Co. v. United States

77 Fed. Cl. 97, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 171, 2007 WL 1630475
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJune 5, 2007
DocketNo. 06-813 C
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 77 Fed. Cl. 97 (American Renovation & Construction Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
American Renovation & Construction Co. v. United States, 77 Fed. Cl. 97, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 171, 2007 WL 1630475 (uscfc 2007).

Opinion

[98]*98 OPINION AND ORDER

SWEENEY, Judge.

Before the court are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the Claims of St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company and St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction (“motion to dismiss”), Defendant’s Motion to Transfer Claims of American Renovation and Construction Company to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“motion to transfer”), and Plaintiffs’ Motion to Stay This Matter Pending the Outcome of American Renovation and Construction Company’s Appeal at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“motion to stay”) (collectively, “motions”). Because all three motions are interrelated, the court will address them in one decision. For the reasons set forth below, the court grants defendant’s motion to dismiss and denies defendant’s motion to transfer. Further, once ARC files an amended complaint, the court will grant plaintiffs’ motion to stay.

I. BACKGROUND

American Renovation and Construction Company (“ARC”) is a construction contracting business domiciled in California.1 Compl. 12. On September 27, 1997, defendant awarded contract number F41622-97-C-0022 (“M-2 contract”) to ARC for the construction of 122 units of new military housing on Malmstrom Air Force Base (“Malstrom AFB”) in Montana. Id. H 8. On March 27, 1998, defendant awarded contract number F41622-98-C-0011 (“M-3 contract”) to ARC for the construction of 72 additional units of new military housing on Malstrom AFB. Id. H 9. The M-2 contract price was $14,359,380, and the M-3 contract price was $11,627,000. Id. Ilf 8-9. St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company and St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company (collectively, “sureties”) provided the performance bonds for the contracts. Id. U10.

ARC began construction under the M-2 contract in late May 1998, id. 1111, and delivered the required housing units to defendant on July 30,1999, August 30,1999, September 30, 1999, and October 29, 1999. Id. H15. ARC began construction under the M-3 contract in July 1999, id. 1113, and delivered the required housing units to defendant on September 28, 2000, October 10, 2000, October 12, 2000, November 7, 2000, and November 21, 2000. Id. 1116. Defendant accepted all of the housing units and common areas on the dates they were delivered by ARC. Id. HH15-16. To ARC’s knowledge, all of the housing units have been occupied since defendant accepted delivery. Id. 1117.

On December 19, 2001, defendant issued a Final Decision that revoked its acceptance of the M-2 contract and terminated the contract for default. Id. H18. Similarly, on September 17, 2002, defendant issued another Final Decision that revoked its acceptance of the M-3 contract and terminated the contract for default. Id. 1119. In both cases, defendant alleged that “ARC’s backfill and compaction practices, and subsequent settlement and subsidence, were latent defects” that justified revoking its acceptances and terminating the contracts for default. Id. 1120.

ARC appealed both the December 19, 2001, and September 17, 2002 Final Decisions to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”). Id. 1128. ARC challenged the propriety of the default terminations on the following grounds: “the Government had substantial and repeated knowledge at the time of the Government’s acceptance, of ARC’s backfill and compaction practices and the settlement and subsidence conditions,” id. H 21; government inspectors and representatives “routinely observed and communicated what they considered to be improper backfill and compaction practices throughout ARC’s performance,” id. 1122; “Government cost reductions required the use of locally existing soils for backfill” and “[t]he Government knew the conditions of the locally existing soils,” id. K23; “[t]he Government ... failed to contemporaneously review project documentation and reports that would have put the Government on fur[99]*99ther notice regarding ARC’s allegedly defective backfill and compaction practices,” id. 1f 24; “[t]he Government was ... aware of the settlement conditions,” including the ongoing problems of “sinking stoops or patios, garage slab settlement, garage foundation cracking, and settlement of sidewalks,” id. 1125; “the alleged defects were caused by defective specifications issued by the Government, as a result of Government mandated cost cutting measures,” about which ARC warned the government, id. 1126; and “the Government failed to perform necessary maintenance adjustments to support the screwjack columns supporting the first floor assembly,” id. 1127. The parties litigated the appeals from November 30, 2004, to December 17, 2004. Id. f 29. The ASBCA has not yet issued a ruling on ARC’s appeals. Id. Tí 30.

On December 1, 2005, defendant issued a third Final Decision that assessed against ARC, and if ARC was unable to pay, “St. Paul Traveler’s,”2 damages in the amount of $25,773,662.17 for reprocurement costs and other costs associated with the default terminations. Id. H 6; Compl. Ex. A at 111 (“I hereby inform [ARC], and if it cannot pay, then its surety St. Paul Traveler’s, [it] is indebted to the United States Govern-ment____”); Compl. Ex. A at 119 (“Thus, the Government is also making its demand against [St. Paul Traveler’s], the surety on the performance bonds in the event that ARC cannot provide payment in full.”). ARC and the sureties filed a Complaint in this court on November 30, 2006, contending that the December 1, 2005 Final Decision was premature, Compl. 111131-34, the assessed damages are excessive, id. 111135-43, and the sureties are not bound by the December 1, 2005 Final Decision, and should be discharged from liability, id. HH44r-54. The Complaint includes two counts. Because the precise language used in the Complaint is critical to the court’s ruling on defendant’s motion to transfer, the court finds it useful to quote the pertinent paragraphs in their entirety. Count I, “Breach of Contract,” includes the following relevant paragraphs:

56. The Government’s improper default terminations, and its premature Final Decision and the excessive damages sought therein, constitute material breaches of the Contracts.
57. The Government abused its discretion in default terminating the Contracts.
58. The Government owed an equitable duty to St. Paul Travelers, and in materially breaching the Contracts and in abusing its discretion, the Government violated that duty.
59. As a direct and proximate result of the Government’s improper termination, ARC and St. Paul Travelers have incurred and will continue to incur damages, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees and consulting fees.
60. The Government materially breached the Contracts and violated the Contract Disputes Act by issuing its premature Final Decision, and seeking excessive damages, which are substantially beyond what the Government actually expended.
61. As a direct and proximate result of the Government’s premature Final Decision, and seeking of excessive damages, which are substantially beyond what the government actually expended, ARC and St.

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Bluebook (online)
77 Fed. Cl. 97, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 171, 2007 WL 1630475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/american-renovation-construction-co-v-united-states-uscfc-2007.