FloorPro, Inc. v. United States

94 Fed. Cl. 775, 2010 U.S. Claims LEXIS 727, 2010 WL 3735280
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedSeptember 23, 2010
DocketNo. 09-651C
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 94 Fed. Cl. 775 (FloorPro, Inc. 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
FloorPro, Inc. v. United States, 94 Fed. Cl. 775, 2010 U.S. Claims LEXIS 727, 2010 WL 3735280 (uscfc 2010).

Opinion

OPINION and ORDER

SMITH, Senior Judge:

Before the Court are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, or in the alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff’s Response and Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, as well as each parties’ reply briefs. Defendant asserts that the Plaintiff cannot establish that the Government’s alleged breach of contract occurred within six years of the date that the Complaint was filed. Plaintiff argues that its Complaint was timely filed and, therefore, its Complaint should not be dismissed. For the reasons set forth below, the Court hereby DENIES Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.

I. FACTS

On February 11, 2002, FloorPro, Inc. (FloorPro) entered into a subcontract agreement with GM & W Construction (GM & W) under contract No. N62467-02-M-2013 (the Contract) to install flooring coating in Warehouse 1360 Bays 2 and 4 at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia. (App. 20, 107-129.) FloorPro began performance of the Contract on February 14, 2002, and performance was completed by February 27, 2002. Id. On March 8, 2002, the Government took possession of the work and no deficiencies were noted. (App. 3, 20.) Thereafter, FloorPro submitted its invoice for payment to GM & W. This invoice was not promptly paid by GM & W. Therefore, on April 17, 2002, FloorPro informed the Contracting Officer (CO) that its invoice submitted to GM & W had not been paid. (App. 3, 21.)

Subsequently, on April 22, 2002, the CO discussed with GM & W the lack of payment to FloorPro. (App. 3, 21, 98.) At that time, GM & W informed the CO that there were claims against it, and it did not know whether funds deposited into the company account would be available to pay FloorPro. Id. As a [777]*777result, the CO and GM & W agreed to a bilateral contract modification, Modification P00001 (Modification), directing the Government’s finance office to issue a joint check payable to both GM & W and FloorPro. This payment was to satisfy FloorPro’s invoice. (App. 3, 21-22.) However, instead of issuing a joint check, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) office paid GM & W directly by electronic means. (App. 21, 100.) FloorPro has never been paid for its work under the contract. (App. 96.)

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

As FloorPro was not paid for its work as agreed to by the Modification, FloorPro submitted its claim for $42,000 to the CO on December 5, 2002. By letter dated December 17, 2002, the CO refused to issue a final decision concerning FloorPro’s claim asserting that the CO could not issue a final decision because the Government did not have a contract with FloorPro. (App. 3, 22, 97.) Further, FloorPro’s claim was not sponsored by GM & W, the prime contractor. (App. 3, 13.)

Approximately three months later, on March 27, 2003, FloorPro directly filed a claim against the Government at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA). Before the Board, the Government sought dismissal of FloorPro’s appeal on the grounds that the Board lacked jurisdiction because FloorPro, as a subcontractor, lacked privity of contract. (App. 30.) In a decision dated March 30, 2004, the Board held that FloorPro was not in contractual privity with the Government, but that it was an intended third-party beneficiary of a contract modification made by the Government and GM & W. (App. 8-17.)

After this decision and further briefing, on October 5, 2004, the Government raised a new argument in its filings, arguing that FloorPro had no rights as a third-party beneficiary. Id. The Board disagreed with this argument and, in a decision dated June 27, 2007, held that the Government beached the Contract Modification and ruled in favor of FloorPro. (App. 18-28.)

Thereafter, the Government appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In June of 2009, the Federal Circuit vacated the Board’s decision and remanded the matter for dismissal. See Winter v. FloorPro, 570 F.3d 1367 (Fed.Cir. 2009). In its decision, the Federal Circuit held that the Contract Disputes Act (CDA), 41 U.S.C. §§ 601-613 (2006), did not give the Board jurisdiction over FloorPro’s claim because FloorPro was not a “contractor” within the meaning of the CDA Winter, 570 F.3d at 1371. Shortly after the Federal Circuit’s decision, on October 2, 2009, Plaintiff filed its Complaint in this Court.

III. DISCUSSION

It is well established that claims against the Government under the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2501 (2006), are subject to a six-year statute of limitations. Further, section 2501 creates a jurisdictional condition precedent for suit in this Court, which may not be waived by the parties. John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States, 457 F.3d 1345, 1354-55 (2006), aff'd, 552 U.S. 130, 128 S.Ct. 750, 169 L.Ed.2d 591 (2008). Under the Tucker Act, a claim accrues “as soon as all events have occurred that are necessary to enable the plaintiff to bring suit.” Martinez v. United States, 333 F.3d 1295, 1303 (Fed.Cir.2003) (en banc), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1177, 124 S.Ct. 1404, 158 L.Ed.2d 76 (2004). Here, the issue that determines jurisdiction is the time at which FloorPro’s cause of action accrued. As a plaintiff, FloorPro bears the burden of demonstrating that its complaint was timely filed. See Alder Terrace, Inc. v. United States, 161 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed.Cir.1998).

The Government relies on the rule established in Brighton Village Assoc. v. United States, 52 F.3d 1056 (Fed.Cir.1995), that in a breach of contract ease a claim “accrues when a plaintiff has done all he must do to establish his entitlement to payment and the defendant does not pay.” Id. at 1060. The Federal Circuit held that breach “claims accrued on the date[ ] the alleged breachL ] occurred.” Id. Thus, relying on the test in Brighton Village, the Government argues that FloorPro’s breach of contract claim accrued at the time that FloorPro was allegedly due payment and it was not paid.

[778]*778According to the Government, the operative facts pertaining to the statute of limitations are as follows. The Modification was signed on April 22, 2002. On July 17, 2002, DFAS paid GM & W Construction directly instead of issuing a two-party check as the Modification required. By letter dated July 18, 2002, the Navy informed FloorPro that DFAS had ignored the Modification and “did not issue the two-party check as the modification had directed.” (App. 3, 89.) On August 9, 2002 the Navy confirmed by letter to Floor Pro that “GM & W has been paid in full by the Government for the subject contract.” (App.

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Related

Floorpro, Inc. v. United States
680 F.3d 1377 (Federal Circuit, 2012)
FloorPro, Inc. v. United States
98 Fed. Cl. 144 (Federal Claims, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
94 Fed. Cl. 775, 2010 U.S. Claims LEXIS 727, 2010 WL 3735280, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/floorpro-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-2010.