Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. v. Renegotiation Board

325 F. Supp. 1146, 20 A.L.R. Fed. 370, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13579
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedApril 26, 1971
DocketCiv. A. No. 1595-68
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 325 F. Supp. 1146 (Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. v. Renegotiation Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. v. Renegotiation Board, 325 F. Supp. 1146, 20 A.L.R. Fed. 370, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13579 (D.D.C. 1971).

Opinion

OPINION

CORCORAN, District Judge.

I.

The Freedom of Information Act1 requires the Government to make available to the public “final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases.”

In Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation v. Renegotiation Board, 138 U.S.App.D.C. 147, 425 F.2d 578 (1970), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that under the Freedom of Information Act Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (hereinafter “Grumman”) was entitled to examine “final orders and opinions” of The Renegotiation Board (hereinafter the “Board”) after suitable deletions by the Board to protect confidential information. The case was then remanded to this Court for a determination of whether certain documents sought to be examined by Grumman constituted final orders and opinions.

II.

In its initial application to the Board,' Grumman sought opinions and orders issued during the renegotiation of the contracts of fourteen competing companies during the years 1962 through 1965, as well as documents concerning its own renegotiations for the year 1965. Following the Court of Appeals decision, the Board furnished to Grumman copies of fifty-one so-called “clearance notices” and two so-called “unilateral orders” which the Board deemed to be the final orders and determinations with respect to the fourteen competitor corporations. Later the Board also furnished certain “performance reports” relating to Grumman and one “statement of facts and reasons” relating to one of the fourteen competing companies involved in renegotiations. Further, it amended its regulations in material respects to allow public access to certain of its records.2

In light of such action, taken subsequent to the Court of Appeals decision, the Board now asserts that it has fully complied with the mandate and urges that the issues are moot. Grumman, however, takes the position that there are additional documents involved in the renegotiation proceedings involving itself and the fourteen competitor companies which constitute final orders and opinions of the Board.3 The Board [1148]*1148has moved for summary judgment. Grumman has moved for an order “in accordance with the mandate” of the Court of Appeals.

III.

As an aid to the resolution of the issue of what constitutes a final order or opinion the Court granted Grumman permission to depose Mr. Lawrence E. Hartwig, Chairman of The Renegotiation Board, as to the procedures followed by the Board and the type of documentation which pertains to typical renegotiation cases. The gist of Mr. Hartwig’s testimony concerning renegotiation procedures 4 follows.

(1) Renegotiation in all cases is initiated at the headquarters of the Board in Washington, D. C. The cases are separated into two categories, viz., Class A and Class B. A Class B ease is one in which the renegotiable profits are less than $800,000. All others are Class A cases.
(2) When a case is filed with the Board it is first considered by the Office of Accounting to check sales, costs, and other accounting factors, and thereafter by the Office of Screening and Exemption. Those cases which appear not to involve excessive profits are screened out at headquarters through this procedure. All other cases are assigned to one of two Regional Boards usually, but not necessarily, on a geographic basis.
(3) A case assigned to a Regional Board is first handled by a two-man team made up of a renegotiator and an accountant. The accountant develops the financial information; the renegotiator develops information concerning contract performance and any other facts which may be of value in arriving at a determination. The team meets with and discusses the case with the contractor and others. When the team has compiled all the necessary information it prepares a Report of Renegotiation which consists of Part 1
(a) dealing with the accounting aspects, and Part 2 dealing with the re-negotiator’s evaluation and recommendation.
(4) The team report is then submitted to the Regional Board.
(a) In a Class B case the Regional Board, acting under power delegated to it by the Board, either issues a clearance notice or issues a unilateral order determining excessive profits. In the latter case an appeal by an aggrieved contractor lies to the Board in Washington.
(b) In a Class A case at regional level renegotiators recommend to the Regional Board either that clearance issue or that a refund be ordered. The Regional Board, in turn, makes a report and recommendation and transmits the file and report to the Board in Washington which has reserved to itself the authority to handle Class A cases.
(5) In a Class A case in which a Regional Board has recommended a clearance, the file after reaching Washington is first sent to .the Office of Accounting which prepares a memorandum addressed to the Office of Review. In that memorandum the accounting office comments upon the financial report submitted by the regional accountant and indicates whether or not it agrees with the opinion of the accountant at the regional level. The Office of Review in turn assigns a reviewer who indicates his concurrence or disagreement with the recommendation of the Regional Board, and then the Director of the Office of Review indicates his own agreement or disagreement with the Regional Board's conclusions.
The file containing the various staff recommendations is then circulated among the five members of the Board. Any member may, if he wishes, conduct an independent study. Finally, according to Mr. Hartwig, “[W]hen [1149]*1149the recommended clearance of the Regional Board comes up on the Board agenda, the Board simply approves or disapproves the clearance. It does not adopt any of the memoranda that are before it.” (Tr. at 7) 5

In the unusual case, however, where the Board has serious questions about the Regional Board’s recommendation of clearance, the Board will reassign the case to headquarters and appoint a division of its own members to meet with the contractor and investigate the case further. Once the division is satisfied that a clearance is appropriate, it prepares a report to the Board to this effect. If the Board agrees, it issues a clearance after reassignment notice.

(6) There are two other types of cases which come to Washington after regional consideration, namely (a) a Class B case where a unilateral order determining excessive profits has been issued and the contractor has indicated an appeal, and (b) a Class A case where an excessive profits determination has been recommended by the Regional Office.

In such cases the Board appoints á division of its members to meet with the contractor and prepare a report to the full Board setting forth its analysis and recommendation. The case is then put on the agenda for consideration by the whole Board and ultimately is disposed of by the issuance of a clearance notice or the issuance of a unilateral order of determination of excessive profits.

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
325 F. Supp. 1146, 20 A.L.R. Fed. 370, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13579, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grumman-aircraft-engineering-corp-v-renegotiation-board-dcd-1971.