Dangfeng Shen Ho v. United States

49 Fed. Cl. 96, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 50, 2001 WL 313743
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedMarch 30, 2001
DocketNo. 00-202 C
StatusPublished
Cited by67 cases

This text of 49 Fed. Cl. 96 (Dangfeng Shen Ho 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
Dangfeng Shen Ho v. United States, 49 Fed. Cl. 96, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 50, 2001 WL 313743 (uscfc 2001).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HEWITT, Judge.

This is a suit by a former contractor with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for monetary and equitable relief arising out of the nonrenewal of a contract for agricultural marketing services. Plaintiff contends that defendant breached the contract by failing to provide written performance evaluations of plaintiffs services as contractor and by failing to exercise the government’s option to renew the contract. Defendant argues that it provided plaintiff notice of deficiencies in plaintiffs performance to the extent required by the contract and that defendant was under no obligation to exercise its option to renew the contract. The suit comes before the court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment and on defendant’s alternative partial motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted.

Count I of the complaint alleges that defendant breached its contract with plaintiff and requests damages resulting from the breach. Complaint ¶¶ 13, 15. Count II of the complaint requests reformation of the contract to give plaintiff the “benefit of her bargain.” Complaint ¶¶ 17. Count III of the complaint requests a declaratory judgment of plaintiffs “rights and duties under the contract.” Complaint ¶ 21. Count IV of the complaint requests the “correction of the Government’s records concerning” plaintiff. Complaint ¶ 22.

For the following reasons, defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED with respect to Counts I and III of the complaint, and plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment is DENIED. Defendant’s partial motion, in the alternative, to dismiss is GRANTED with respect to Counts II and IV of the complaint.

I. Background

The USDA hired plaintiff as an Agricultural Marketing Specialist for its Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) in Shanghai, China, on March 3, 1996. Defendant’s Proposed Findings of Uncontroverted Fact (DPFUF) HH1, 4-5.1 Paragraph H.2 of the contract provided for an initial contract period ending on September 30, 1996. Defendant’s Appendix (Def.App.) at 11. Paragraph H.4 provided that the contract was renewable at defendant’s option for four one-year terms after the initial period. Id. Paragraph F.4 provided that plaintiff “shall receive a written evaluation of ... her performance 60 days prior to the end of each contract period” and that “[a] satisfactory performance evaluation is required, otherwise, [the] contract will not be renewed.” Id. at 10. Defendant twice renewed plaintiffs contract for one-year additional terms on September 26, 1996 and on [99]*99October 16, 1997. Id. at 24, 29. Defendant did not provide plaintiff written performance evaluations prior to either the end of the initial contract period on September 30, 1996 or the end of the first one-year renewal term on September 30, 1997. Plaintiffs Proposed Findings of Uncontroverted Fact (PPFUF) ¶¶ 2, 6.

However, on November 17,1997, plaintiffs supervisor, Scott Reynolds, gave plaintiff a written evaluation of her performance. DPFUF ¶ 13; Declaration of Dangfeng Shen Ho, filed February 20, 2001 (Second Ho Aff.) ¶ 5(a).2 The evaluation identified several strengths in plaintiffs performance, including organizational abilities, linguistic skills, and loyalty to the ATO, and several areas of “concern”, including missed deadlines, lack of punctuality, and the conduct of personal business by plaintiff while at work. Def.App. at 199.

On September 9, 1998, plaintiff and Mr. Reynolds had a dispute over a proposal to send the film crew of a Chinese television station to the United States in order to produce a documentary about U.S. agriculture. Def.App. at 170. Mr. Reynolds ultimately decided against the proposal. Id. at 74. On September 11, 1998, Mr. Reynolds informed plaintiff that he had decided not to seek a renewal of her contract. DPFUF ¶ 15. At plaintiffs request, Mr. Reynolds gave plaintiff a written performance evaluation on September 15, 1998. Id. Plaintiff subsequently requested that her contract be extended by one month, and Mr. Reynolds agreed. Id. ¶ 17. Defendant’s contracting officer and plaintiff signed a standard form extending plaintiffs contract through October 31, 1998. Def.App. at 32-33.

On or about December 8, 1998, a contracting action form memorializing a “Resignation of Personal Services Contract” and authorizing a lump sum payment of unused annual leave was sent to plaintiff. Def.App. at 36. Plaintiff wrote to the contracting officer, Benjamin Dille, on January 21, 1999, as well as to another official, Robert Frazier, stating that she refused to sign the form because she had not resigned. Def.App. at 38. Plaintiff wrote to Mr. Dille again on April 7, 1999, requesting reinstatement of her contract on grounds that Mr. Reynolds had retaliated against her. Def.App. at 41-42. Plaintiff requested that her claim relate back to January 21, 1999. Id. Plaintiff also filed a complaint with the USDA. Def.App. at 174-77. Mr. Dille wrote to plaintiff on April 28, 1999, denying her claim. Id. at 59-63. Mr. Dille stated that the renewal of plaintiffs contract was at the government’s sole discretion, that he had investigated plaintiffs retaliation claim, and that he had found no evidence that Mr. Reynolds had committed any illegal acts. Id. at 59-61. Plaintiff brought suit in this court on April 10, 2000. Complaint at 1.

II. Discussion

The parties have cross-moved for summary judgment on all counts of the complaint. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Or, in the Alternative, Partial Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction or for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted (Def.Mot.) at 4; Plaintiffs Memorandum in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment Or, in the Alternative, Partial Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction or for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted and Plaintiffs Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (P1.0pp.) at 1. Defendant has moved to dismiss Counts II, III and IV of the complaint for failure to state a claim or lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court will first address defendant’s motion to dismiss, and then discuss the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment.

[100]*100A. Motion to Dismiss

1. Reformation

In Count II of her complaint, plaintiff states that “the contract should be reformed to permit Plaintiff to obtain the benefit of her bargain, including status as an employee of said Government during the contract period.” Complaint ¶ 17. Defendant has moved to dismiss Count II of the complaint under Rule 12(b)(4) of the United States Court of Federal Claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Def. Mot. at 32-34. Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(4) is appropriate “when the facts asserted by the claimant do not under the law entitle him to a remedy.” Perez v. United States, 156 F.3d 1366, 1370 (Fed.Cir.1998); RCFC 12(b)(4). A court considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(4) “must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in [the nonmovant’s] favor.” Boyle v. United States, 200 F.3d 1369, 1372 (Fed.Cir.2000); RCFC 12(b)(4).

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Bluebook (online)
49 Fed. Cl. 96, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 50, 2001 WL 313743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dangfeng-shen-ho-v-united-states-uscfc-2001.