International Data Products Corp. v. United States

64 Fed. Cl. 642, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 81, 2005 WL 705220
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedMarch 28, 2005
DocketNos. 01-459 C, 03-2515 C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 64 Fed. Cl. 642 (International Data Products Corp. 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
International Data Products Corp. v. United States, 64 Fed. Cl. 642, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 81, 2005 WL 705220 (uscfc 2005).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE W. MILLER, Judge.

These consolidated cases are before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment As To Liability. Oral argument was held on March 17, 2005. For the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part and defendant’s motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise indicated. On May 5,1997, the Air Force awarded Contract F01620-97-D-001 (“Desktop V”) to plaintiff, International Data Products (“IDP”). IDP was a small minority-owned business and participant in the United States Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) 8(a) program. At the time it submitted its proposal for the Desktop V contract, IDP had served the Government for “the past twelve years.” Def.’s App. at 100. The Desktop V contract was a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (“IDIQ”) contract to provide computer systems, computer and warranty services, and software products and upgrades to the Air Force and other federal agencies. Section I of the contract incorporated by reference the provision at Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 52.216-22, entitled “Indefinite Quantity.” Def.’s App. at 49. That clause provided in pertinent part as follows: “This is an indefinite-quantity contract for the supplies or services specified, and effective for the period stated, in the Schedule. The [644]*644quantities of supplies and services specified in the Schedule are estimates only and are not purchased by this contract.” 48 C.F.R. § 52.216-22(a) (1984).

The Desktop V contract consisted of one base year and four one-year options, Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶ 5, and required the Government to place a minimum quantity of $100,000 in orders during the base year. Def.’s App. at 9. The contract stated that the Government’s exercise of an option would not re-establish the contract minimum for the option period. Id. The contract set the maximum quantity of orders at $729,010,929. Id. The contract further provided that the total estimated quantities were $100 million. Id. The contract required IDP to provide products “and bundled support services” identified in IDP’s proposal and in Sections B and C of the contract. Def.’s App. at 10-11. IDP’s proposal listed products with a “3-yr warranty.” Def.’s App. at 89-90. Unit prices for products, including warranties and other bundled support services, were stated in Section B of the contract. Def.’s App. at 18-25. IDP’s proposal, which was incorporated into the final contract, included an agreement to maintain certain inventory levels.

In February 1998, IDP informed the Government of an agreement it had entered into with Dunn Computer Corporation, a non-8(a) concern, to sell IDP. Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶ 6. As a result, Section 8 of the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. § 637 (2000), required the Government to terminate the Desktop V contract for convenience. Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶7. Pursuant to section 637(a)(21)(B) of title 15, the Air Force sought a waiver of the statutory 8(a) requirement that the Government terminate the Desktop V contract with IDP. The SBA denied the Air Force’s request for a waiver, and the denial was sustained by the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals. Int’l Data Prods. Corp., SBA No. BDPW-125, 1999 WL 1007639, 1999 SBA8A LEXIS 15 (Aug. 31, 1999). On October 8, 1999, the contracting officer notified IDP that the contract was “completely” terminated for convenience, but that the termination did not affect the warranties and upgrades for products purchased by the Government. Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶11; Def.’s App. at 322-23.

On May 5, 1997, the award date of the contract, the Government placed an initial order of $109,575, later modified to $100,436. Def.’s App. at 69, 87. By the time the Desktop V contract was terminated in October 1999, the Government had ordered and paid IDP for over $35 million worth of products during the almost two and one-half years of the contract. Def.’s App. at 157.

After contract termination, IDP continued to perform the warranty and software upgrade work, as directed by the termination notice. By letter dated April 11, 2000, IDP notified the Air Force that IDP would cease all performance. Def.’s App. at 327-28. In the letter, IDP demanded a contracting officer’s final decision that the Government was not entitled to continue to hold IDP liable for warranty services and software upgrades. Id.; Compl. (No. 01-459 C) ¶13. The contracting officer’s final decision, dated August 8, 2000, denied IDP’s claim. Compl. (No. 01-459 C) ¶14. IDP filed case No. 01-459 C on August 7, 2001, seeking a declaratory judgment “that defendant may not hold IDP to the [Desktop V] contractual provisions which could otherwise require IDP to provide warranty and software upgrade services to [the Government].” Compl. (No. 01 — 459 C) ¶17.

On September 18, 2002, IDP filed a certified claim with the contracting officer, seeking termination and other costs that IDP claimed it was owed by the Government. Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶13. The claim sought $1,247,915 for inventory and restocking costs, $440,990 for warranty services and software upgrades provided after the contract was terminated, and $40,300 for executive, legal, and accounting time spent preparing and prosecuting IDP’s termination settlement proposal. Id. The contracting officer issued a final decision on November 15, 2002, denying IDP any termination costs. Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶14. On October 30, 2003, IDP filed a second suit in this Court, No. 03-2515C, seeking termination costs sought in its certified claim. Compl. (No. 03-2515 C) ¶16. By order of this [645]*645Court dated March 23, 2004, the second suit was consolidated with the first.

The parties’ cross-motions raise two issues:

1. Whether the Government is liable for termination costs if the Government satisfied the Desktop V contract minimum before the contract was terminated.
2. Whether IDP was responsible to continue to provide warranty and upgrade services after the Desktop V contract was terminated for convenience.

DISCUSSION

I. Standard For Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” RCFC 56(e); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A material fact is one that will affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The movant for summary judgment bears the burden of demonstrating that “there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. This case involves questions of contract and statutory interpretation, both of which are questions of law, and thus, amenable to summary disposition. Kent v. Principi,

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

Related

Brent Berry v. Native American Services Corporation
109 F.4th 1297 (Eleventh Circuit, 2024)
International Data Products Corp. v. United States
492 F.3d 1317 (Federal Circuit, 2007)
International Data Products Corp. v. United States
70 Fed. Cl. 387 (Federal Claims, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
64 Fed. Cl. 642, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 81, 2005 WL 705220, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-data-products-corp-v-united-states-uscfc-2005.