Anthony and Gordon Construction Co.

CourtArmed Services Board of Contract Appeals
DecidedJuly 1, 2021
DocketASBCA No. 61916
StatusPublished

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Anthony and Gordon Construction Co., (asbca 2021).

Opinion

ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS Appeal of - ) ) Anthony and Gordon Construction Co. ) ASBCA No. 61916 ) Under Contract No. N69450-13-C-0754 )

APPEARANCE FOR THE APPELLANT: Herman M. Braude, Esq. Braude Law Group, P.C. Rockville, MD

APPEARANCES FOR THE GOVERNMENT: Craig D. Jensen, Esq. Navy Chief Trial Attorney Matthew D. Bordelon, Esq. Trial Attorney

OPINION BY ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE HERZFELD ON THE GOVERNMENT’S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

Anthony and Gordon Construction Company (A&G) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida (Navy) contracted for A&G to provide repairs and renovation to an aircraft component maintenance facility at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. A&G alleges that the Navy provided defective design specifications relating to two mechanical rooms at the facility, which required a change to the scope of work to correct the defects and resulted in A&G incurring additional costs of performance. The Navy has moved to dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction, contending that A&G’s allegation of damages in its complaint constitutes a claim not previously presented to the contracting officer. A&G opposes the motion, stating that the operative facts underlying A&G’s claim and complaint are the same. We deny the Navy’s motion.

STATEMENT OF FACTS FOR PURPOSES OF THE MOTION

On July 25, 2003, the Navy awarded A&G contract No. N69450-13-C-0754 (Contract) for a design-bid-build project for the repair and renovation of an aircraft component maintenance facility – Building 49 – at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. (R4, tab 14 at 1783, 1786)1 The Contract required A&G to submit various plans and schedules for government approval before A&G would be given access

1 The Navy numbered pages in the Rule 4 file with a prefix of “GOV” with leading zeros. We have dropped the prefix and leading zeros and just cite the numeric page number. to Building 49 (R4, tab 14 at 1828). The solicitation for the Contract had included specifications of the two mechanical rooms in Building 49 prepared by an architectural and engineering (A/E) firm, TransSystems Corporation (TransSystems), but the A/E firm was unable to access those portions of Building 49 due to traces of hexavalent chromium (a hazardous substance that required abatement prior to the start of any demolition work). (R4, tab 2 at 70) Indeed, neither A&G nor its mechanical and plumbing construction subcontractor, Blackstock Federal Constructors LLC (Blackstock), could gain access to Building 49 until after remediation of the hazardous substance was completed on February 28, 2014 (R4, tab 48 at 2189 (noting remediation period)).

After gaining access to the facility, Blackstock notified A&G that the Navy’s drawings did not accurately reflect the size of the equipment in the two mechanical rooms (R4, tab 41 at 2093-98). In a June 6, 2014 request for information, A&G notified the Navy that one mechanical room – room 212 – “is not large enough for all of the equipment, the supportive piping systems[,] and the duct systems” and the room’s structure “limits where floor openings can be located for ductwork” (R4, tab 41 at 2100, tab 48 at 2207).2 On June 18-19, 2014, A&G, Blackstock, the Navy, and TransSystems met to discuss Blackstock and A&G’s concerns (R4, tab 41 at 2107). 3 At that meeting, A&G and the Navy discussed concerns with room 212 and A&G and Blackstock also raised concerns regarding room 237, including proposing to re-locate the vacuum pumps from room 237 to another mechanical room (R4, tab 41 at 2107-08). A&G raised the concerns with room 237 again in writing in an October 17, 2014 request for information (R4, tab 48 at 2205).

On October 2, 2014, the Navy provided a revised layout for room 212 (R4, tab 41 at 2138, tab 48 at 2207-08). On November 7, 2014, the Navy and A&G appeared to initially resolve the arrangement of equipment in room 237 (R4, tab 41 at 2147, tab 48 at 2208). However, the parties continued to discuss concerns regarding room 237 through at least April 2015 (R4, tab 41 at 2148). And, A&G submitted a June 18, 2015 request for information to the Navy regarding insufficient space to install control panels in room 212, and an April 25, 2016 request for information proposing options for placement of a water treatment system either inside or outside of room 212 (R4, tab 41 at 2078, 2080-81).

On May 21, 2015, Blackstock sent a letter to A&G requesting compensation for delays that allegedly resulted from the defective drawings of the mechanical rooms

2 Room 212 was a pre-existing room and room 237 was a new mechanical room to be added as part of the Contract’s construction work (R4, tab 48 at 2167). 3 TransSystems is also referred to as the “designer of record” (DOR) throughout A&G’s

claim (see, e.g., R4, tab 41 at 2105, 2107). 2 provided by the Navy (R4, tab 25).4 On August 7, 2015, A&G submitted a request for equitable adjustment to the Navy, requesting $858,992, “plus Anthony & Gordon Construction Co. Inc. agreed upon mark ups” (R4, tab 30). The evidence indicates A&G provided a copy of Blackstock’s May 2015 submission as support for the request for equitable adjustment regarding delays resulting from the defective drawings of the mechanical rooms (R4, tabs 30-31, 41 at 2092). On December 7, 2015, the contracting officer denied A&G’s request for equitable adjustment stating: “The Government believes that the additional costs claimed were a direct result of A&G and [Blackstock’s] own actions. A&G failed to comply with the contract specifications and progressed slowly with the required field measurements, layout coordination, and notification to the Government.” (R4, tab 34 at 1973)

Additionally, A&G encountered problems through at least August 2016 with testing and balancing work for some of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment in the mechanical rooms (R4, tab 41 at 2148-50). A&G ascribed these problems to the Navy’s defective drawings and the Navy’s slow response in approving A&G’s proposed solutions (id.).

On November 27, 2016, A&G submitted a certified claim to the Navy, which A&G revised by letter dated January 20, 2017 (R4, tabs 39, 41). Along with disputing many of the assertions contained in the Navy’s denial of its request for equitable adjustment, A&G’s 83-page claim included a detailed chronology, intermingled with documentary evidence, describing the impact of the allegedly defective specifications. (R4, tab 41 at 2092-2150). A&G stated, “Due to the Navy’s design errors and subsequent delays in resolving the problems, A&G and Blackstock were forced to stay on the project much longer than planned and . . . to work out of sequence to their original plan for the work” (R4, tab 41 at 2151). A&G further explained, “A&G/Blackstock’s original plan was to complete all mechanical work within 270 calendar days. Instead, the mechanical work began in March 2014 and scheduled for completion of the work in December 2016. This is an increase of 135%.” (R4, tab 41 at 2152)

A&G’s claim sought “$3,990,263.00 in excess costs over its original bid” for the mechanical work (R4, tab 41 at 2152). A&G derived this amount by subtracting its “original cost” for mechanical work (as expressed in Blackstock’s subcontractor bid) from its total cost of completing the mechanical work: $6,748,263 (total cost) - $2,758,000 (Blackstock’s bid) = $3,990,263 (claim amount). (R4, tab 41 at 2151-52)

4 This document does not quantify the value of Blackstock’s request for reimbursement. Although it indicates that “cost supporting documentation” was included at a “TAB 4” (see R4, tab 25 at 1864), we were unable to locate any such tab or other information purporting to assign a dollar value to the various increased costs within this document.

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