Langoma Industries, Inc. v. United States

125 Ct. Cl. 366, 1953 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 164, 1953 WL 6140
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJune 2, 1953
DocketNo. 49753
StatusPublished

This text of 125 Ct. Cl. 366 (Langoma 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
Langoma Industries, Inc. v. United States, 125 Ct. Cl. 366, 1953 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 164, 1953 WL 6140 (cc 1953).

Opinion

Jones, Chief Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This suit is for damages for delays alleged to have been caused by defendant’s delivery of faulty cloth for use in the manufacture of army jackets.

The plaintiff contracted to make for the Army 75,000 wool jackets for a consideration of $493,750. The specifications contained the following provisions:

All component parts of the garment shall be cut out of one piece of material * * *.
All component parts of j acket shall be marked or ticketed to insure a uniform shade and proper assembly throughout the garment * * *.

The defendant was to furnish the material, the initial delivery date to be September 15,1948.

Plaintiff’s plant was located at Elverson, Pennsylvania. The company president, who was also its general manager, and had had many years’ experience in the garment industry in New York, went to that city and employed 15 key men who reported at Elverson on September 13 to be ready to begin operations on Wednesday, September 15. Plaintiff furnished them board and lodging but did not pay them that week. After midday Friday, September 17, no material having been received, the men were released and left Elverson at two o’clock that afternoon. The initial delivery of gov-[368]*368erniment-furnished material arrived at 8:45 o’clock that afternoon.

Plaintiff’s president promptly telephoned as many of the men as he could reach, then went to New York to notify the others to return for work. By the end of the following week enough of the key men were on hand to carry forward plaintiff’s plan of operations.

The key men were to train enough local men and women to do the task under the supervision of the key employees. The method of operation is set out in detail in findings 6, 7, and 8.

The cloth was unrolled on a long cutting table, being laid 40 or 50 plies high; a pattern was marked on the top ply and the cloth cut according to that pattern.

On Monday, October 4, 1948, one of the plaintiff’s employees discovered and called the attention of the company president to the fact that some of the jackets contained pieces which did not match in shade. Further investigation revealed other jackets mismatched in color.

The fault lay in the government-furnished material, which in the same piece of cloth had some varying shades of color.

Plaintiff’s president had never encountered such a situation. It was more than a week before he found the trouble. In the meantime he began ripping apart the faulty garments in an effort to match them properly, checked every operation and operator in the plant, and almost disrupted his organization by accusing employees of negligence. In his impatience his language perhaps became somewhat colorful.

Upon locating the source of the trouble the plaintiff immediately called the local inspector, who suggested a conference with defendant’s chief inspector. The conference was held in New York on October 13, 1948, the day following that on which the trouble was located. Some of the faulty cloth and jackets were taken to New York for examination.

After finding the cloth shaded in the piece the chief inspector conferred with the contracting officer and other officials of the Quartermaster Corps, and then conferred again with plaintiff’s president.

The chief inspector told plaintiff that the decision as to what to do in the matter would be confirmed in writing by [369]*369the contracting officer, but that in the meantime plaintiff could proceed; that the Government would pay for the jackets made from the faulty material, but that the plaintiff should set aside all jackets in which the defect was visible at a distance of more than three or four feet, as to which special instructions would later be issued to the inspector.

At the conference it was found that the faulty cloth had come from the Eedstone mill.

Plaintiff’s president was satisfied with the conference, but a few hours later upon hearing a report of the conference the company treasurer urged plaintiff not to proceed with the contract until defendant’s decision was stated in writing.

Also upon returning to the Elverson plant the president found that a second shipment had come from Redstone, that 1,550 additional jackets had been cut and sent to the sewing room. He promptly advised the defendant that there was Redstone material in the second lay, which was in work, that he assumed the same ruling would apply as to the first lay, and that he would proceed accordingly.

Naturally all this slowed down recruitment and operation, but by October 18 plaintiff was ready to increase sewing room operation, except that no confirmation in writing of the decision by defendant had been received. Plaintiff’s president withheld pressing for recruitment while he endeavored to get a decision in writing. A night letter was sent to defendant on October 21, but it was not until November 2 that defendant confirmed its decision by letter of that date. Plaintiff received the letter November 3,1948.

The October and November delivery dates had passed before any deliveries were made.

Applications for extension of time were made to the contracting officer who assessed liquidated damages for a portion of the delay. This assessment was reversed by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and appropriate extensions granted for delays caused by late delivery of government-furnished material and the difference in shade of part of the material.

From October 1 to 16, inclusive, the operations of plaintiff’s sewing room were unproductive. Virtually all the garments were ripped apart.. From October 17 to November 2 operations were limited. Plaintiff was unable to make full use of sewing room and facilities due to the failure of defend[370]*370ant to give written instructions as to the disposition of faulty material.

Plaintiff was definitely caused damages on account of wages paid, pay roll and other taxes, insurance on buildings and machinery, depreciation and use of facilities and gas and electricity, and incidentals. The part of these items of damage attributable to the defendant for the two periods we find to be $5,100.

Other items such as disruption of business and uncertainty, while real, are not of such a nature as to form the basis of a finding.

Plaintiff is entitled to recover the sum of $5,100.

It is so ordered.

Howell, Judge; Madden, Judge; Whitaker, Judge; and Littleton, Judge, concur.

FINDINGS OE FACT

The court makes findings of fact based upon the evidence, the report of Commissioner W. Ney Evans, and the briefs and argument of counsel, as follows:

1. On September 3, 1948, plaintiff, a Pennsylvania corporation, entered into a contract (No. W30-280-QM-9695) with the Department of the Army whereby plaintiff undertook to make for defendant 75,000 wool jackets, from materials supplied by defendant, for a total consideration of $493,750. The contract and specifications are in evidence as plaintiff’s Exhibits Nos. 1 and 2, which are incorporated herein by reference.

2. Defendant undertook to make the initial delivery of government-furnished material on September 15, 1948.

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Bluebook (online)
125 Ct. Cl. 366, 1953 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 164, 1953 WL 6140, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/langoma-industries-inc-v-united-states-cc-1953.