Churchill Chemical Corp. v. United States

602 F.2d 358, 26 Cont. Cas. Fed. 83,573, 221 Ct. Cl. 284, 1979 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 206
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJuly 18, 1979
DocketNo. 274-77
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 602 F.2d 358 (Churchill Chemical Corp. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Churchill Chemical Corp. v. United States, 602 F.2d 358, 26 Cont. Cas. Fed. 83,573, 221 Ct. Cl. 284, 1979 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 206 (cc 1979).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

This case comes before the court on plaintiffs request for review of the recommended decision of Trial Judge Judith Ann Yannello, filed October 10,1978, pursuant to Rule 166(c), on plaintiffs motion and defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment, having been submitted on the briefs and oral argument of counsel. Upon consideration thereof, since the court agrees with the trial judge’s recommended decision, as hereinafter set forth, it hereby affirms and adopts the decision as the basis for its judgment in this case. Therefore, it is concluded that the Board’s determination, that the assessment of excess reprocurement costs in the amount of $50,897.99, was proper, is fully supported by the substantial evidence, is neither erroneous, arbitrary nor capricious, and is correct as a matter of law. Accordingly, defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted, plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is denied, and the petition is dismissed.

OPINION OF TRIAL JUDGE

YANNELLO, Trial Judge:

In this action before the court for review under the standards of the Wunderlich Act, 41 [287]*287U.S.C. §§ 321-22 (1970), plaintiff contends that a decision of the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals ("the Board”), under docket number 4353, is "erroneous.”1

The Board had sustained the Government’s assessment of excess reprocurement costs, in the amount of $50,897.99, against the plaintiff, following the default termination of plaintiffs contract. Plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment alleges that the Board’s decision

failed to comply with the standards of the Wunderlich Act, 41 U.S.C. 321 and 322. Plaintiff rests its case both upon errors of law (41 U.S.C. 322) and lack of support by substantial evidence (41 U.S.C. 321).

With respect to a review by this court under the Wunderlich Act, Court of Claims Rule 163(b)(3)(i) and (iii) requires that a party set forth in numbered paragraphs those findings of fact which are deemed to be lacking the support of substantial evidence and to offer citations to those portions of the record which purportedly refute the administrative findings.2 In the instant case, however, plaintiff has failed, in large measure, to comply with this rule. Consequently, and unless otherwise noted, the facts recited below restate findings made by the Board that either were not controverted by plaintiff or else were not controverted in a manner consistent with the requirements of the court’s rules. What remains for consideration then is the correctness of the Board’s ultimate findings of fact and its legal conclusions.

Plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment sets forth its primary contention as follows

Plaintiff submits [the issue of the propriety of] this assessment [of excess reprocurement costs] * * * to the Court on one issue i.e. whether the Government duly exercised its duty to mitigate damages.

In connection with this single issue, plaintiff presents extensive discussion, with many citations to prior decisions, [288]*288concerning the Government’s duty to mitigate damages. We need not evaluate this discussion for it is indeed well settled that, in effecting procurement, the Government must fulfill its duty to mitigate its damages.

Our analysis focuses, instead, on the two areas in which the plaintiff specifically addresses an alleged failure by the Government to act properly in attempting to mitigate damages. First the plaintiff alleges that the terminated contract should not have been the subject of reprocurement but should rather have been reinstated so as to permit the plaintiff to furnish the items for which it had previously defaulted. This contention relates to both the facts surrounding the contract termination itself and the activity immediately following the contract termination. Second, the plaintiff alleges that the Government erroneously awarded reprocurement contracts to bidders other than the plaintiff itself which had also submitted a bid. This contention relates to the facts surrounding the reprocurement. In addition to these specific contentions, plaintiff addresses certain general aspects of the duty to mitigate.

Each of the specific areas raised by plaintiff is examined separately below, with a statement of relevant facts and a discussion within each section. Based upon consideration of plaintiffs contentions, it is concluded that the Government fully met its obligation to mitigate damages, properly effected reprocurement, and properly assessed the plaintiff with the amount of excess reprocurement costs of $50,897.99.

1. Contract termination.

The contract in issue called for plaintiff to furnish to defendant its normal supply requirements of sealing compounds used in repairing aircraft fuel tanks and fuel cell cavities, for the period March 1, 1974 through February 28, 1975. Under three purchase orders, issued in November and December 1974, plaintiff failed to make available for inspection by February 1975 the supplies of sealing compound ordered.

On February 27, 1975, the Government issued a letter requiring plaintiff to show cause, within 10 days, why the purchase orders should not be terminated for default. [289]*289Plaintiff responded by, inter alia, requesting an extension in all contract delivery dates. The Government denied this request. With respect to certain of the items on which plaintiff was in default, plaintiff requested an extended delivery date coupled with a price discount and this was accepted by the Government. With respect to some other items on which plaintiff was in default, plaintiff tendered conforming supplies prior to the actual termination and these supplies were accepted by the Government. With respect to the remaining items on which plaintiff was in default, the contract was terminated on March 6, 1975.

The Board found as a matter of fact, not controverted by plaintiff, that the termination was not premature under the terms of the show-cause letter, that the Government had not waived the time requirements of the contract with respect to the terminated items, and that no excusable delay existed with respect to plaintiffs default on the terminated items.

2. Post-termination activity.

The terminated items which are the subject of the reprocurement in issue here numbered 14. Plaintiff had advised the Government at about the time of the termination, March 6, 1975, that the terminated items could be supplied by approximately March 28, 1975. However, on March 24, 1975, a Government onsite inspector advised the contracting officer that, if the items terminated on March 6 were to be reinstated, it would take the contractor approximately 45 to 60 days to complete delivery, or until about late May 1975. (In late April 1975, in connection with its own bid on the reprocurement solicitation, plaintiff indicated a willingness to furnish only nine of the 14 terminated items.)

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

Related

Precision Standard, Inc.
Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, 2015
Spodek v. United States
73 Fed. Cl. 1 (Federal Claims, 2006)
Consolidated Industries , Inc. v. United States
195 F.3d 1341 (Federal Circuit, 1999)
Thomas Creek Lumber & Log Co. v. United States
41 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,971 (Federal Claims, 1996)
Aerolease Long Beach v. United States
31 Fed. Cl. 342 (Federal Claims, 1994)
Wilner v. United States
28 Fed. Cl. 783 (Federal Circuit, 1993)
International Fidelity Insurance v. United States
37 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,277 (Court of Claims, 1992)
Edwards v. United States
36 Cont. Cas. Fed. 76,004 (Court of Claims, 1991)
Ketchikan Pulp Co. v. United States
36 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,854 (Court of Claims, 1990)
Martin J. Simko Construction, Inc. v. United States
33 Cont. Cas. Fed. 74,888 (Court of Claims, 1986)
Cascade Pacific International v. The United States
773 F.2d 287 (Federal Circuit, 1985)
Roflan Co. v. United States
32 Cont. Cas. Fed. 73,207 (Court of Claims, 1985)
Siller Bros. v. United States
655 F.2d 1039 (Court of Claims, 1981)
Venice Maid Co. v. United States
639 F.2d 690 (Court of Claims, 1980)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
602 F.2d 358, 26 Cont. Cas. Fed. 83,573, 221 Ct. Cl. 284, 1979 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 206, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/churchill-chemical-corp-v-united-states-cc-1979.