Hub Industries, Inc. v. United States

115 F. Supp. 450, 126 Ct. Cl. 239, 1953 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 38
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedSeptember 30, 1953
DocketNo. 49043
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 115 F. Supp. 450 (Hub Industries, Inc. 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
Hub Industries, Inc. v. United States, 115 F. Supp. 450, 126 Ct. Cl. 239, 1953 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 38 (cc 1953).

Opinion

Howell, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an action under the War Contract Hardship Claims Act, known as the Lucas Act, 60 Stat. 902, as amended by 62 Stat. 869, 992, 41 U. S. C. § 106 note (1946 Ed. Supp. V), to recover from the United States the sum of $179,162.84 as the net loss alleged to have been sustained by plaintiff without fault or negligence on its part in the performance of [242]*242various Government contracts between September 16, 1940, and August 14, 1945.

The defendant has moved for summary judgment on the ground that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that as a matter of law it is entitled to judgment for the reason that plaintiff did not file a proper “written request for relief” with respect to its losses within the meaning of Section 3 of the Lucas Act. The burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact which would justify granting summary judgment, is upon the party asking for summary judgment. Assets Service Corporation v. United States, 121 C. Cls. 308, 312.

The plaintiff’s claim pertains to a number of contracts, and the parties have discussed the contracts and alleged requests for relief in eight different groups. As to whether the documents relied upon by the plaintiff are proper written requests for relief with respect to the losses plaintiff has allegedly incurred under these contracts, Section 3 of the Lucas Act provides in part that:

Claims for losses * * * shall be limited to losses with respect to which a written request for relief was filed with such department or agency on or before August 14, 1945, * * *.

In Fogarty v. United States, 340 U. S. 8, 13, the Supreme Court held that a “written request for relief” need not be in any particular form, but “must be sufficient to apprise the agency that it was being asked to grant extra-legal relief under the First War Powers Act for losses sustained in the performance of war contracts.”

Contract No. W535-ac~$6%95

This contract related to the manufacture and delivery of various main landing gear assemblies and nose wheels on a cost-plus-fixed-fee basis. Plaintiff alleges that it sustained a loss of $79,945.48 due to the resident auditor’s refusal to allow the entire amount of plaintiff’s overhead costs which plaintiff allocated to this contract. The issue regarding this contract is whether plaintiff’s letters of September 30,1943, [243]*243December 28, 1943, February 18, 1944, and November 22, 1944 are proper written requests for relief.

The letters of September 30, 1943 and December 28, 1943 notified the defendant that plaintiff’s actual costs would exceed its estimated costs; and, in effect, requested that its estimated costs be increased; the letter of December 28,1943 stated that the additional costs were necessary. Subsequently, a change order dated January 31, 1944 was issued which amended Article 2 of the contract so as to increase plaintiff’s estimated cost by the amount requested. This amendment to the contract was done pursuant to the First War Powers Act and Executive Order No. 9001 on the ground that plaintiff’s original estimates were too low and additional money was urgently needed to complete the contract work. The change order, however, granted plaintiff the full amount of the estimated, costs requested, and consequently these letters of September 30,1943 and December 28, 1943 were not requests for relief with respect to plaintiff’s losses or actual costs under this contract which allegedly resulted from the resident auditor’s subsequent refusal to allow the amount of overhead costs which plaintiff allocated to this contract.

The letter of February 18, 1944 notified the contracting officer as to the reasons why the plaintiff had not earned certain discounts amounting to $2,545.37 and deducted by the Army audit staff from plaintiff’s allowable costs under Article 3 (e) of the contract. Article 3 (e) provided that discounts which would have accrued to the benefit of the plaintiff except for fault or neglect on its part should be deducted from plaintiff’s gross costs, but that such benefits lost through no fault of the contractor should not be deducted from such gross costs. In its letter, plaintiff attempted to justify its failure to earn the discounts on the ground that such was not due to its fault or neglect but was due to unavoidable circumstances relating to the inspection of materials. It requested that the contracting officer dispose of the issue so that plaintiff would be in a position to recover this amount. We think this was not a request for extra-legal relief, but a request that the contracting officer determine [244]*244that the discounts were lost through no fault or neglect of the plaintiff and therefore under the contract terms should not be deducted from its gross costs. The claim was therefore not one for extra-legal relief. See Evans v. United States, 200 F. 2d 201, 205, 207-208 (C. A. 8); Owens v. United States, 123 C. Cls. 1.

The letter of November 22, 1944 to the resident auditor merely proposed two methods of allocating plaintiff’s overhead expenses on its fixed-price contracts and its cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This letter proposed that certain overhead items having a direct relationship to labor be distributed on the basis of direct labor costs, but that other overhead expenses consisting of general administrative expenses or indirect factory costs (not directly related to productive labor) be distributed on the basis of prime costs, i. e. the total costs of direct labor plus direct material.

It appears from this letter that plaintiff’s contracts covered more than one year, and therefore would require the distribution of overhead, in part for separate accounting periods. Because of differences in inventory for production on its cost-plus-fixed-fee contract as compared with fixed-price contracts, plaintiff suggested that only 50% of the increase or decrease in inventories during the second year of its operations be considered in distributing those overhead costs distributable upon its prime costs.

The plaintiff was entitled under Article 3 (b) of the contract and under the Treasury Department regulations and Treasury Department Decision 5000 (both referred to in Article 3 (b)) to have this part of its overhead costs allocated as part of its allowable costs by a determination by the contracting officer of such overhead costs were “the proper proportion of any indirect costs (including therein a reasonable proportion of management expenses) incident to and necessary for the performance of the contract or subcontract.” See 26 C. F. R. Supp. 1940 § 26.9. Thus, here also, the claim contained in plaintiff’s letter, if fully established, would have entitled it to these overhead costs under the terms of the contract, and the letter cannot be construed as a request for extra-legal relief. See Evans v. United States, supra; Owens v. United States, supra.

[245]*245 Purchase Order 33375 Under Fleetwings, Inc., Contract No. W535-ac-%0857

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Related

Hub Industries, Inc. v. United States
160 F. Supp. 277 (Court of Claims, 1958)

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Bluebook (online)
115 F. Supp. 450, 126 Ct. Cl. 239, 1953 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 38, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hub-industries-inc-v-united-states-cc-1953.