Globe Construction Co. v. United States

29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,530, 230 Ct. Cl. 957, 1982 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 243, 1982 WL 25288
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMay 7, 1982
DocketNo. 235-81C
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,530 (Globe Construction Co. 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
Globe Construction Co. v. United States, 29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,530, 230 Ct. Cl. 957, 1982 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 243, 1982 WL 25288 (cc 1982).

Opinion

[958]*958This Wunderlich Act case comes before us on cross-motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff ("Globe”) seeks to overturn the determination of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ("asbca” or "Board”) that plaintiff is not entitled to an equitable adjustment for conduit work allegedly beyond that required by the contract specifications and drawings. As we conclude that the asbca decision is neither fraudulent, capricious, arbitrary, so grossly erroneous as necessarily to imply bad faith, nor unsupported by substantial evidence, we affirm the Board’s decision and grant defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs petition is dismissed.

At issue is a contract for the rehabilitation of eight openbay Army barracks buildings at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Plaintiff was awarded the lump sum contract (No. DACA 63-73-C-0123) on February 8, 1973, and commenced work one month later. During the course of plaintiffs performance a dispute first arose regarding the extent of television conduit which the contract required plaintiff to install, and shortly thereafter the dispute was expanded to encompass telephone and fire alarm conduit. Plaintiff asserted that the contract drawings and specifications were ambiguous regarding the extent of conduit to be installed in the remodeled barracks, and that its interpretation that the contract required only minimal conduit installation was reasonable and should control. Despite plaintiffs contentions, however, which were aired during various meetings with Government representatives in 1973-74, plaintiff installed television, fire alarm and telephone conduit in all eight buildings in accordance with the Government’s interpretation of the contract drawings and specifications.

With the project nearing completion, Globe filed a formal claim with the Contracting Officer for an equitable adjustment covering the television, fire alarm and telephone conduit allegedly installed in excess of the contract’s terms at the Government’s direction. This claim was denied by the Contracting Officer on June 18, 1976, and Globe then filed its timely appeal with the asbca. In a lenghty and detailed decision dated September 27,1978,1 the asbca held [959]*959that Globe "failed to prove that it actually relied on its professed interpretations of conduit requirements either in submitting its bid or in performing the contract” and that "each separate aspect of appellant’s claim is without merit,” thus concluding that Globe was not entitled to an equitable adjustment under the contract. In response to the adverse decision of the asbca, Globe filed suit in this court seeking Wunderlich Act2 review.

It is now firmly established that our scope of review in Wunderlich cases is limited to a determination of whether the Board’s decision is fraudulent, capricious, arbitrary, so erroneous as to imply bad faith, or unsupported by substantial evidence. United States v. Carlo Bianchi & Co., 373 U.S. 709, 714 (1963); Koppers Co., Inc. v. United States, 186 Ct. Cl. 142, 147, 405 F.2d 554, 557 (1968). Equally well established is the rule that the Board’s determination on a question of law is not binding on this court. Arundel Corp. v. United States, 207 Ct. Cl. 84, 97, 515 F.2d 1116, 1123 (1975) (citing Foster Constr. C.A. v. United States, 193 Ct. Cl. 587, 601, 435 F.2d 873, 880 (1970)).

The administrative record before us establishes that there were indeed inconsistencies between the contract drawings and specifications regarding conduit installation. The asbca itself found that "[t]he requirements for installing television and telephone conduit were certainly not crystal clear.” In its reply brief, plaintiff contends that "both the specifications and drawings must be read together,” and relying on the inconsistency between these two .elements of the contract, argues that its interpretation as to the extent of conduit required by the contract was reasonable. Citing WPC Enterprises, Inc. v. United States, 163 Ct. Cl. 1, 323 F.2d 874 (1963), plaintiff concludes that its reasonable interpretation of the contract (drawn by the Government) should apply, because it actually and reasonably relied on that interpretation during the course of bidding and performance.

Plaintiffs analysis is deficient in two respects. First, regarding the reasonableness of its interpretation, plaintiff fails to address the fact that a method for resolving [960]*960discrepancies between the contract’s drawings and specifications was set forth in the literal language of the contract. General Provision 2 (GP-2) of the contract states in part:

Anything mentioned in the specifications and not shown on the drawings, or shown on the drawings and not mentioned in the specifications, shall be of like effect as if shown or mentioned in both. In case of a difference between drawings and specifications, the specifications shall govern.

The reasonableness of plaintiffs contractual interpretation must be evaluated in light of all the terms of the contract, including GP-2. Hol-Gar Corp. v. United States, 169 Ct. Cl. 384, 395, 351 F.2d 972, 979 (1965). The following example is illustrative of plaintiffs failure to apply GP-2 in interpreting the contract, and explains the ASBCA’s conclusion that "[n]one of the interpretations propounded by appellant lies within the zone of reasonableness.”

As indicated by plaintiff, of the three types of conduit at issue, television conduit represents the greatest number of lineal feet of conduit in dispute. Plaintiff correctly points out that the contract specifications do not refer to television conduit. However, GP-2 requires an examination of the drawings accompanying the contract to determine the contract’s true meaning. Significantly, the asbca found that the installation of television conduit was depicted on "riser diagrams” (drawings) accompanying the specifications. We have examined this finding and conclude that it is supported by substantial evidence. The record indicates that plaintiff either ignored the riser diagrams completely or interpreted them selectively, in the latter instance disregarding lines on the diagrams not accompanied by a descriptive notation regarding conduit size. We consider plaintiffs contractual interpretation regarding television conduit unreasonable to the extent that it failed to consider fully the riser diagrams accompanying the specifications.

A second flaw in plaintiffs analysis, as applied to the claims regarding telephone and fire alarm conduit, is its failure to prove that it actually relied upon its interpretation during the course of bidding or performance. As we stated in Astro-Space Labs., Inc. v. United States, 200 Ct. Cl. [961]*961282, 296, 470 F.2d 1003

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

Related

Endure Industries, Inc.
Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, 2026
Huffman Construction, LLC
Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, 2025
Cherry Hill Sand & Gravel Co. v. United States
33 Cont. Cas. Fed. 74,030 (Court of Claims, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
29 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,530, 230 Ct. Cl. 957, 1982 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 243, 1982 WL 25288, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/globe-construction-co-v-united-states-cc-1982.