Dominion Resources, Inc. v. United States

641 F.3d 1359, 41 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20162, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 8454, 2011 WL 1532145
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedApril 25, 2011
Docket2009-5031, 2009-5032
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 641 F.3d 1359 (Dominion Resources, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dominion Resources, Inc. v. United States, 641 F.3d 1359, 41 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20162, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 8454, 2011 WL 1532145 (Fed. Cir. 2011).

Opinions

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge MOORE. Circuit Judge GAJARSA concurs-in-part and dissents-in-part.

MOORE, Circuit Judge.

In this spent nuclear fuel (SNF) case, the United States appeals two narrow issues underlying the Court of Federal Claims’ award of damages to Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, Inc. (Dominion) for partial breach of contract. First, the government appeals the trial court’s holding that the Assignment of Claims Act does not prohibit the assignment of existing contract claims to Dominion. Because the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), 42 U.S.C. § 10222, allows such assignments, we affirm the court’s holding on this issue. Second, the government appeals the trial court’s denial of discovery into benefits accruing to Dominion from the government’s failure to perform. Because the one-time fee that Dominion will owe when the government begins accepting SNF is not yet due, the government has no basis for its proposed discovery. We therefore affirm on this second issue as well.

Background

The general factual background surrounding the SNF cases appears in the trial court’s opinions and in earlier opinions by this court. See Neb. Pub. Power Dist. v. United States, 590 F.3d 1357, 1359 (Fed.Cir.2010) (en banc); Carolina Power & Light Co. v. United States, 573 F.3d 1271, 1273 (Fed.Cir.2009); Dominion Res., Inc. v. United States, 77 Fed.Cl. 151 (2007); Dominion Res., Inc. v. United [1361]*1361States, 84 Fed.Cl. 259 (2008). We recount here only the facts pertinent to this appeal.

The NWPA authorizes the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to enter into contracts with utility companies for the disposal of the utilities’ high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). 42 U.S.C. § 10222(a). By law, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cannot renew the license of any utility that has not entered into such a contract with the DOE. 42 U.S.C. § 10222(b)(1)(A). Using notice and comment rulemaking, the DOE promulgated a Standard Contract, codified at 10 C.F.R. § 961.11, which contains the material terms of its agreements with the utilities. 48 Fed.Reg. 16590-01 (Apr. 18, 1983). Under the Standard Contract, the DOE was to accept delivery of the SNF no later than January 31, 1998. The DOE partially breached the Standard Contracts it entered into with the nuclear utilities because it has yet to accept SNF from the utilities. See Carolina Power, 573 F.3d at 1273. It is unknown when DOE will perform under the Standard Contracts, and the utilities in this case and others seek mitigation damages incurred in storing the SNF.

DISCUSSION

Assignment of Claims

In 1983, Dominion’s predecessor, Northeast Utilities, executed three Standard Contracts for the disposal of SNF from its three nuclear power plants at the Millstone Power Station near New London, Connecticut. When Northeast Utilities sold Millstone to Dominion in 2001, it also assigned the three Standard Contracts to Dominion. Dominion, 84 Fed.Cl. at 261. The assignment stated that Northeast transferred to Dominion, along with title to the SNF, “all rights of the Sellers ... under the DOE Standard Contracts (including all rights to any claims of Sellers related to DOE defaults thereunder).” J.A. 1613.

In the instant suit, Dominion claimed $52.0 million in interim storage costs, including $12.1 million incurred by Northeast prior to Dominion’s acquisition of the Millstone facility. Dominion, 84 Fed.Cl. at 263, 285. The Court of Federal Claims determined that approximately $200,000 of the pre-acquisition damages lacked sufficient evidentiary support and another $1 million was not recoverable because Dominion was unable to demonstrate that the costs incurred were caused by the government’s breach. Id. at 284-85. After also disallowing some of the claimed post-acquisition damages, the trial court awarded Dominion approximately $42.7 million, of which $10.9 million was incurred prior to Dominion’s acquisition of Millstone. Id. at 263; Appellee’s Br. 2.

At issue here is the pre-acquisition portion of the damages awarded to Dominion. The government does not dispute Dominion’s entitlement to the interim storage costs for the SNF which it incurred after it acquired Millstone. The government also does not dispute its responsibility for interim storage costs for the SNF following the breach and up until Dominion’s acquisition of Millstone (the $10.9 million). The government’s argument on appeal, however, is that Dominion is not entitled to sue the government for the $10.9 million incurred by Northeast Utilities for storing the SNF. Moreover, the government does not dispute that pursuant to the contract in which Northeast Utilities sold Millstone to Dominion, both parties clearly intended for the sale to include the transfer of the claim against the government for the pre-acquisition interim storage fees. Rather the government argues that Northeast Utilities was not permitted to transfer its claim against the government for interim storage fees — that such a transfer is barred by the Assignment of Claims Act, [1362]*1362Pub.L. No. 97-258, § 1, 96 Stat. 976 (codified at 31 U.S.C. § 3727) (Claims Act).

The Claims Act generally prohibits the assignment of a claim against the government until “after [the] claim is allowed, the amount of the claim is decided, and a warrant for payment of the claim has been issued.” 31 U.S.C. § 3727. A similar statute, 41 U.S.C. § 15 (Contracts Act), generally prohibits the assignment of contracts. The government may waive these restrictions. Tuftco Corp. v. United States, 614 F.2d 740, 745 (Ct.Cl.1980).

At trial, the government argued that the NWPA waives the provisions of the Contracts Act but not those of the Claims Act, thus preventing the transfer of any claim for pre-assignment damages from Northeast Utilities to Dominion. Dominion, 84 Fed.Cl. at 286. The government also argued that pursuant to Ginsberg v. Austin, 968 F.2d 1198, 1199 (Fed.Cir.1992), Congress must, but did not, expressly waive the Claims Act as to existing breach of contract claims. 84 Fed.Cl. at 286. The trial court disagreed, ruling that the NWPA provides a statutory waiver to the Claims Act and that the agreement assigning the Standard Contracts to Dominion specifically included the right to assert an existing breach of contract claim. Id. at 286.

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Dominion Resources, Inc. v. United States
641 F.3d 1359 (Federal Circuit, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
641 F.3d 1359, 41 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20162, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 8454, 2011 WL 1532145, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dominion-resources-inc-v-united-states-cafc-2011.