Datalect Computer Services, Ltd. v. United States

42 Cont. Cas. Fed. 77,379, 41 Fed. Cl. 720, 1998 U.S. Claims LEXIS 224, 1998 WL 635543
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedSeptember 15, 1998
DocketNo. 95-328C
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 42 Cont. Cas. Fed. 77,379 (Datalect Computer Services, Ltd. 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
Datalect Computer Services, Ltd. v. United States, 42 Cont. Cas. Fed. 77,379, 41 Fed. Cl. 720, 1998 U.S. Claims LEXIS 224, 1998 WL 635543 (uscfc 1998).

Opinion

ORDER

MOODY R. TIDWELL, III, Senior Judge.

This case is before the court following trial on quantum, held June 1 to June 5, 1998 in London, England. On December 18, 1997, the court granted in part and denied in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to entitlement and damages, and granted in part and denied in part plaintiffs cross-motion for partial summary judgment as to entitlement. The court found that defendant negligently prepared the statement of estimated needs in a requirements contract for computer repair services. In the damages phase of trial, plaintiff sought to recover DM 6,285,445 under a contract reformation theory and, in the alternative, DM 3.773,324 under an “increased cost” theory.1 Defendant argued that plaintiff did not detrimentally rely on the estimate in preparing the bid and was therefore not entitled to recover damages. For the reasons discussed herein, the court finds that plaintiff has failed to meet its burden of proving the amount of damages.

BACKGROUND

A detailed account of the facts surrounding this case can be found in the court’s liability opinion, Datalect Computer Services Ltd. v. United States, 40 Fed.Cl. 28 (1997). A brief summary of relevant facts is provided below as background. The court’s factual findings on quantum are contained in the Discussion section of this opinion.

On July 23, 1992, the U.S. Army Europe (USAEUR) issued an invitation for bids (“IPB”) for the maintenance and repair of government-owned “tier-III” (freestanding, office-based, personal) computer equipment in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Italy (Blocks A, B, and C respectively). On February 5, 1993, USAREUR executed requirements contract No. DAJA37-93-D0065 with plaintiff, Datalect Computer Services, Ltd. (“Datalect”), a corporation organized under the laws of the United Kingdom. In order to perform the contract, plaintiff established an office in Germany.

The solicitation required Datalect to submit individual unit contract line item number (“CLIN”) prices for numerous repair functions. The contract, for a one-year term with three one-year options, began in March of 1993. Defendant exercised all of the options, and performance continued through March, 1997.

Pursuant to 48 C.F.R. § 16.503(a)(1) (1996), the IFB and resulting contract contained an estimate of the government’s requirements based on the historical workload. This dispute arose when the quantity of actual service calls was significantly less than the estimated quantity of services stated in the solicitation. During the first four to six months of the contract, Datalect complained to the Army of a reduced call rate. The historical workload was 60 to 65 service calls per business day, while the actual service call rate under the Datalect contract fluctuated between 25 and 45 service calls per day.

On March 17, 1995, after several letters requesting information from USAREUR on the reduced call rate, plaintiff submitted a claim to the Army for an equitable adjustment based upon its assertion that the Army breached the contract by (1) failing to disclose all relevant facts necessary for Datalect to accurately prepare its bid and (2) failing to utilize Datalect to provide all of the government’s requirements under the contract. Datalect claimed that its reliance on the government’s estimated needs resulted in Data[722]*722lect’s bid being “unrealistically low” to the detriment of Datalect and to the benefit of USAREUR. On March 27, 1995, defendant denied Datalect’s claim, finding that the estimated quantities in the solicitation were based on the most current information available.

Plaintiff filed a complaint in this court on May 8, 1995, seeking damages of DM 3,872,847 in compensation for its lost revenue, plus costs, and an injunction to prevent defendant from diverting service calls to its own maintenance facilities. Plaintiff argued that defendant breached its duty to consider certain relevant information when compiling the workload estimates, including: (1) the impending troop drawdown; (2) plans to purchase new computer equipment with extended warranties; and (3) the intention to perform self-maintenance. Plaintiff also argued that defendant breached the contract, depriving Datalect of service calls, by performing self-maintenance and utilizing extended warranty agreements on new computers. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment as to both entitlement and damages. Plaintiff responded with a cross-motion for partial summary judgment as to entitlement.

In preparing a solicitation, the government is bound by a rather simple good faith standard which requires it to seek the most current information available, and either reformulate its estimate when warranted by the information available, or notify offerors of situations or factors likely to affect the estimate. See 48 C.F.R. § 16.503(a)(1) (1996); see also Medart, Inc. v. Austin, 967 F.2d 579, 582 (Fed.Cir.1992) (in formulating its estimate, the government must take into account information “reasonably available” to it). The estimate need not be exact, or even accurate, as long as it provides bidders with a fair opportunity to reasonably formulate their bids. In the liability phase, the court ruled that defendant was negligent in preparing its estimate because it failed to consider and disclose available information that was likely to affect the estimate. Datalect, 40 Fed.Cl. at 35. The court also held that the government did not breach the requirements contract by performing in-house maintenance and utilizing extended warranty arrangements for tier-III maintenance and repair, because it was only required to utilize Datalect’s services when it had a need to purchase such services, i.e. when it could not perform the work in-house or under warranty. Id. at 41-42.

The parties were directed to attempt to negotiate a settlement to the amount of damages. When those efforts failed, the damages issue was tried.

DISCUSSION

The party claiming entitlement to an equitable adjustment bears the burden of establishing the amount of the adjustment. Mingus Constructors, Inc. v. United States, 812 F.2d 1387, 1392 (Fed.Cir.1987); Nager Elec. Co. v. United States, 194 Ct.Cl. 835, 853, 442 F.2d 936, 946 (1971). Thus, plaintiff herein bears the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, both the reasonableness of the costs claimed and their causal connection to the alleged events on which the claim is based. S.W. Elecs. & Mfg. Corp., ASBCA 20698, 77-2 BCA ¶ 12,631, 1977 WL 2297, aff'd, 228 Ct.Cl. 333, 655 F.2d 1078 (1981). This burden, however, does not require a claimant to prove his damages with absolute certainty or mathematical exactitude. Dale Constr. Co. v. United States, 168 Ct.Cl. 692 (1964); Houston Ready-Cut House Co. v. United States, 119 Ct.Cl. 120, 96 F.Supp. 629 (1951). In Wunderlich Contracting Co. v. United States,

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

Related

East Coast Repair & Fabrication, LLC v. United States
199 F. Supp. 3d 1006 (E.D. Virginia, 2016)
KOGA ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC. v. State
203 P.3d 676 (Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, 2009)
CEMS, Inc. v. United States
59 Fed. Cl. 168 (Federal Claims, 2003)
Datalect Computer Services, Inc. v. United States
56 Fed. Cl. 178 (Federal Claims, 2003)
Hi-Shear Technology Corp. v. United States
53 Fed. Cl. 420 (Federal Claims, 2002)
Doninger Metal Products, Corp. v. United States
50 Fed. Cl. 110 (Federal Claims, 2001)
MVM, Inc. v. United States
46 Fed. Cl. 126 (Federal Claims, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
42 Cont. Cas. Fed. 77,379, 41 Fed. Cl. 720, 1998 U.S. Claims LEXIS 224, 1998 WL 635543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/datalect-computer-services-ltd-v-united-states-uscfc-1998.