C & H Commercial Contractors, Inc. v. United States

35 Fed. Cl. 246, 1996 WL 146743
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedApril 2, 1996
DocketNo. 92-728 C
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 35 Fed. Cl. 246 (C & H Commercial Contractors, Inc. 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
C & H Commercial Contractors, Inc. v. United States, 35 Fed. Cl. 246, 1996 WL 146743 (uscfc 1996).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

TURNER, Judge.

Plaintiff brought this action pursuant to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978, 41 U.S.C. §§ 605 & 609, seeking damages for delay and impact costs resulting from several contract modifications and extensions that occurred during performance of a construction contract with the United States Air Force.

This opinion addresses defendant’s motion filed June 27,1995 for partial summary judgment and plaintiffs cross-motion filed July 31,1995 for partial summary judgment. For reasons stated below, we conclude that defendant’s motion for summary judgment with respect to Count I of the complaint should be denied and that plaintiffs cross-motion for partial summary judgment concerning Count I should be granted. We further conclude that defendant’s motion for summary judgment pertaining to Count IV of the complaint should be granted-in-part.

I

In September 1988, plaintiff (C & H) entered into a construction contract with the Air Force to renovate an office building at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee. The renovation included demolition, carpentry, mechanical and electrical work. The original contract amount was $1,846,213. The original performance time was 653 calendar days, and the work was to be performed in phases.

On November 10,1988, a notice to proceed was issued resulting in an original contract completion date of August 25, 1990. During performance of the contract, sixteen contract modifications were executed, adding a total of 242 days to the performance period.1 Plaintiff contends that delays, changes, disruptions and differing conditions that arose during the contract performance period resulted in significant additional costs. Plaintiff brings this suit to recover these costs, outlined in seven counts and totaling $417,-618.78.

In Count I of the complaint, plaintiff seeks delay and impact costs associated with thirteen of the contract modifications. Plaintiff alleges that nine of these modifications (P-3 through P-5, P-8 through P-12 and P-15) required additional contract time totalling 223 days.

Count IV of the complaint seeks an equitable adjustment in the contract price and a time extension as compensation for an alleged “differing site condition.” The renovation project included asbestos abatement work requiring removal of floor tile and mastic. This job was performed under subcontract by Levy Industrial Contractors, Inc. (Levy). When Levy began work on the floor, it encountered an unforeseen and abnormal degree of cracking in the existing floor slabs. The Air Force representative in charge of the project directed Levy to remove all traces of asbestos from the cracked floor [250]*250area, resulting in increased costs and time of performance for the asbestos abatement portion of the project. Plaintiff contends that the extensively cracked floor constituted a “differing site condition” which warranted an equitable adjustment in the contract price. Levy prepared a cost proposal of $16,172 for the extra time and expense incurred as a result of this differing condition. The proposal was forwarded by plaintiff to the Air Force, but no contract modification was issued. Plaintiff further alleges that the floor condition caused a twelve-day delay in completion of the entire project and seeks compensation for this delay.

By letter dated December 16, 1991, plaintiff sought an equitable adjustment of $604,-736.71 as compensation for extra costs allegedly incurred as a result of the Air Force’s repeated delays and changes in performance required under the contract. Plaintiffs claim was audited by the Defense Contract Audit Agency in early 1992. As a result of this audit and of a conference between plaintiff and the auditor, the claim was revised, resubmitted and recertified by letter dated March 31,1992.

Based on the events at issue in this civil case, plaintiff and its officers were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Tennessee on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States, mail fraud and filing false claims. A criminal trial took place in late 1994, resulting in acquittal of plaintiff and its officers on all charges.

II

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. RCFC 56(e); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509-10, 91 L.Ed.2d 202; Mingus Constructors, Inc. v. United States, 812 F.2d 1387, 1390 (Fed.Cir.1987). A “material fact” is a fact that could make a difference in the outcome of a case. Curtis v. United States, 144 Ct.Cl. 194, 199, 168 F.Supp. 213, 216 (1958), cert. denied, 361 U.S. 843, 80 S.Ct. 94, 4 L.Ed.2d 81 (1959). Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of a suit properly will prevent the court from entering summary judgment. Anderson, All U.S. at 248,106 S.Ct. at 2505.

The moving party initially bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of any genuine issue of material fact. That burden may be discharged by showing the absence of evidence in support of the non-moving party’s case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the moving party has discharged its burden, the burden then rests upon the party opposing the motion to demonstrate by sufficient evidence that a genuine issue of material fact positively remains. Id. at 324-25, 106 S.Ct. at 2553-54. According to the Federal Circuit: “The non-movant may not rest on its conclusory pleadings but, under Rule 56, must set out, usually in an affidavit by one with knowledge of specific facts, what specific evidence could be offered at trial.” Sweats Fashions, Inc. v. Pannill Knitting Co., 833 F.2d 1560, 1562-63 (Fed.Cir.1987). In considering motions for summary judgment, we view evidence and draw inferences in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Litton Indus. Products, Inc. v. Solid State Systems Corp., 755 F.2d 158, 163 (Fed.Cir. 1985).

Ill

A

Defendant contends that thirteen of the bilateral contract modifications signed by plaintiff are settlement agreements for the work covered in each particular modification. According to defendant, these modifications operate as comprehensive releases for each of the work delays or differing conditions, and thus plaintiff is barred from requesting additional damages arising from the work addressed in the modifications.

Plaintiff contends that the government assured it that release language contained in the modifications would not bar subsequent claims for delay/impact costs. Plaintiff also seeks summary judgment on Count I, asking that the government be estopped from raising its affirmative defense of accord and satisfaction. Although plaintiff characterizes its [251]

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Bluebook (online)
35 Fed. Cl. 246, 1996 WL 146743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/c-h-commercial-contractors-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-1996.