Chemray Coatings Corp. v. United States

39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,570, 29 Fed. Cl. 278, 1993 U.S. Claims LEXIS 147, 1993 WL 362144
United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided September 16, 1993·No. No. 91-1364C·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

OPINION

NETTESHEIM, Judge.

This case, before the court after argument on cross-motions for summary judgment, involves claims arising from a contract terminated for convenience of the United States. Defendant asserts four counterclaims based on the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 (1988); the Contract Disputes Act, 41 U.S.C. § 604 (1988); and 28 U.S.C. § 2514 (1988), providing for a special plea in fraud. Defendant charges that plaintiff fraudulently submitted false invoices for payment and knowingly made false representations in certified claims submitted to the contracting officer. Defendant asks the court to award the Government monetary relief totalling at least $348,498.00 including treble damages, civil penalties, and costs of this action. The Government also seeks the cost to the Government for disposing of the material in dispute, the unsupported amount of plaintiff’s claims, and the forfeiture of all claims.

FACTS

The following facts are largely undisputed, unless otherwise noted. Chemray Coatings Corporation (“plaintiff”) is a paint manufacturer located in Kenilworth, NJ. On November 4, 1986, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) awarded plaintiff Contract No. GS-10F-50646 to supply military camouflage paint to the Department of the Army (the “Army”). The contract was a requirements contract with a starting date of February 1, 1987. Plaintiff previously had submitted to the Army for approval its formulation for one of the paints called for by the contract, Forest Green Type II, and following inspection the formulation was accepted onto the Qualified Products List (“QPL”) on February 8, 1984. GSA informed plaintiff during this submittal process that QPL standards prohibited changes in the formulation of the [280]*280paint unless a sample of the new formulation was submitted for retesting.

The contract contained a section entitled “Clauses Incorporated by Reference.” This section specifically incorporated Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 48 C.F.R. § 52.210-5 (1987), which provides, in pertinent part:

Unless this contract specifies otherwise, the contractor represents that the supplies and components, ..., are new, including recycled (not used or reconditioned) and are not of such age or so deteriorated as to impair their usefulness or safety. If the Contractor believes that furnishing used or reconditioned supplies or components will be in the Government’s interests, the Contractor shall so notify the Contracting Officer in writing. The Contractor’s notice shall include the reasons for the request along with a proposal for any consideration to the Government if the Contracting Officer authorizes the use of used or reconditioned supplies or components.

FAR § 52.210-5 (emphasis added).

GSA terminated the contract for convenience on October 14, 1987. Plaintiff received $715,544.40 in compensation for the paint supplied up to the time of termination. Following termination, plaintiff submitted a claim to GSA on January 13, 1989, for various costs connected with closing the contract, including unused materials. Officials of plaintiff and GSA met at GSA’s Boston office on January 17, 1990, to discuss settlement of the termination for convenience. The testimony conflicts as to whether the condition of the materials for which plaintiff was claiming in the settlement was specifically discussed at the meeting.

On April 19, 1990, Contracting Officer Richard Bell issued a final decision approving the settlement reached by plaintiff and GSA. It states that “GSA performed a technical evaluation of the leftover inventory to ensure that only items and quantities necessary for completion of the terminated orders would be allowed.” Defendant maintains that no inspection of the contents was undertaken at this time. The decision also determined that “[a]ll of the above costs [including the costs of the termination inventory] are allowable, reasonable and can be properly allocated to the termination action.” On May 1, 1990, plaintiff submitted an invoice for the amount arrived at in the partial termination settlement agreement. On May 29, 1990, GSA issued a check to plaintiff for $97,065.00 in satisfaction of this agreement.

1. The 10)05 pigment claim

The settlement agreement included reimbursement to plaintiff for the cost of 8,000 pounds of Irgacolor Green 10405 (“10405”), a green pigment manufactured by Draken-feld Colors, a division of Ciba-Geigy, Inc. 10405 is the primary pigment used in the formulation of Forest Green Type II paint, one of the camouflage paints manufactured under the contract. On January 13, 1989, plaintiff submitted a certification to GSA claiming that the stock of 10405 was part of the contract’s “termination inventory.” In a second certification also dated January 13, 1989, plaintiff certified that the claimed costs were directly allocable to the terminated portion of the contract.

Plaintiff had purchased the 10405 pigment months prior to the formation of GSA contract. This stock of 10405 was present during a February 12, 1985 fire at plaintiff’s warehouse, which damaged much of plaintiff's inventory of chemicals and materials. Since the fire destroyed the paper bags in which the 10405 had been packaged, the pigment was placed in 19 fiberboard drums. Work crews assigned to clean up the warehouse after the fire tried to recover the 10405 by shoveling it into cardboard drums. As a result, nails, wood chips, and other fire debris were mixed in with the 10405.

Plaintiff informed GSA that the stock of 10405 could not be returned to Ciba-Geigy because the bags in which the 10405 had originally been packaged had been ripped. GSA accordingly paid plaintiff $28,776.00 for the stock of 10405 pigment, calculated at a rate of $3.30 per pound, the market price for unadulterated 10405 pigment.

[281]*281The parties dispute GSA’s knowledge of the condition of the material in the drums. Defendant asserts that GSA did not know that the drums of 10405 contained fire debris. Instead, GSA first learned the drums did not contain unadulterated 10405 when they were transferred to Ciba-Geigy. Defendant asserts that upon receiving the drums, a representative of Ciba-Geigy contacted Contracting Officer Bell to inform him that the drums were contaminated. A letter dated October 24, 1990, from Ciba-Geigy Irgaeolor Product Manager Dr. Gau-denz Furler to Mr. Bell noted that the drums contained burned wood, rusty nails, and other burned material. Mr. Bell informed plaintiff that the drums were unacceptable and demanded return of the amount paid for the drums. Plaintiff then filed suit in this court asking relief from GSA’s reimbursement demand.

Several incidents conflict with defendant’s account of the events preceding GSA’s purchase of the 10405. A telephone contact record signed by Mr. Bell on June 15, 1990, notes that the Belle Meade Depot would receive the excess 10405 “and this would occur after the material was screened, if screening was deemed appropriate.” 1

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Chemray Coatings Corp. v. United States, 39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,570, 29 Fed. Cl. 278, 1993 U.S. Claims LEXIS 147, 1993 WL 362144 (uscfc 1993).

39 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,570 (Chemray Coatings Corp. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Horn & Associates, Inc. v. United States
123 Fed. Cl. 728 (Federal Claims, 2015)
Chapman Law Firm, LPA v. United States
113 Fed. Cl. 555 (Federal Claims, 2013)
Ulysses, Inc. v. United States
110 Fed. Cl. 618 (Federal Claims, 2013)
United States v. Advance Tool Co.
902 F. Supp. 1011 (W.D. Missouri, 1995)