Litton Systems, Inc. v. Frigitemp Corp.

613 F. Supp. 1377
District Court, S.D. Mississippi·Decided July 3, 1985·No. Civ. A. S77-0372(B)·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BARBOUR, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Motion of the Plaintiff, Litton Systems, Inc., d/b/a Ingalls Shipbuilding Division (“Litton”), for partial summary judgment on the eighth, ninth and tenth counts of the Defendant Trustee’s counterclaim (quantum meruit and unjust enrichment/third-party beneficiary claims). The Court, having considered the briefs, affidavits and materials submitted in support of, and in opposition to the Motion, is of the opinion, for the reasons set out hereinafter, that the Motion should be granted.

FACTUAL HISTORY

In May, 1969, Litton entered into Contract No. N00024-69-C-0283 for the construction of certain Landing Helicopter Assault (LHA) vessels to be delivered to the United States Navy. In 1970, Litton entered into contract No. N00024-70-C-0275 for the construction of thirty destroyer (DD) vessels to be delivered to the United States Navy. Litton subcontracted to Fri *1379 gitemp a substantial portion of essential construction work on the LHA and DD vessels, three of which subcontracts are at issue in this proceeding.

On or about June 20, 1972, Litton placed Purchase Order No. 21-01-A00505-01 with Frigitemp for the purchase and installation of hull insulation on an LHA at a fixed price of $5,100,000.00. The LHA hull insulation subcontract, dated June 20, 1972, provided that Frigitemp would complete its work by April 17, 1976. On or about April 16, 1973, Litton placed purchase order No. 69-01514-011 with Frigitemp for LHA joiner work at a fixed price of $10,985,250.00. The LHA joiner subcontract, dated April 16, 1973, provided that Frigitemp would complete its work by December 17, 1976. On or about April 16, 1973, Litton placed purchase order No. 70-01501-001 with Frigitemp for DD joiner work and hull insulation at a fixed price of $52,800,000.00. The DD subcontract, dated April 16, 1973, provided that Frigitemp would complete its work by April 3, 1978.

Although the parties disagree vehemently over the causes of the delays, it is agreed that the work on the LHA contracts as a whole was some six years beyond the original delivery schedule and the work on the destroyers was some two years beyond the original delivery schedule by 1978. On May 28, 1979, Litton terminated the Frigitemp subcontracts for default due to insolvency pursuant to paragraph 7b(3) of the LHA terms and conditions and paragraph 7b(3) of the DD standard terms and conditions contained in the subcontracts. During the course of the contracts, Litton and Frigitemp entered into 442 Change Notices which modified the contracts with regard to work, time of performance and payment. As a result of these change orders, the face value of the three contracts had risen from the original face amount of approximately $69,000,000.00 to a face value of approximately $112,000,000.00. During the course of the contracts, Litton and Frigitemp entered into a series of three Agreements from 1976 through 1978 by which the contracts were converted into a cost-plus contracts, in which Litton agreed to pay Frigitemp its allowable costs of performance, subject to recoupment by Litton, above the $112,000,000.00 face value of the contracts. Pursuant to these agreements, Litton paid Frigitemp approximately $161,000,000.00 prior to termination.

Litton contends in this action that, through the fraud and breaches of contract of Frigitemp and its officers, Litton overpaid Frigitemp by approximately $50,000,-000.00. Frigitemp asserts that the value of the work it performed under the contracts exceeded the amount it was paid by Litton by approximately $38,000,000.00.

FRIGITEMP’S COUNTERCLAIM

Frigitemp’s claims against Litton are set out in a ten count counterclaim. Although only the last three counts are of immediate concern in the instant motion, the relief sought in many of the remaining counts is germane to the issues involved in this Motion. The first seven counts are based upon breach of contract. Count one seeks damages for failure to follow the modular design program, improper scheduling, incomplete releases, and inadequate support services. Count two is based upon a refusal to equitably adjust the contract terms pursuant to the “changes” clauses of the contracts. Count three alleges breach of a November 1976 agreement to pay Frigitemp’s costs after November 15, 1976. Count four deals with the breach of an alleged $11,000,000.00 settlement agreement but has been voluntarily dropped by the Trustee. Count five alleges breach of a March 30, 1977 agreement to pay Frigitemp’s costs. Count six alleges breach of a March 16, 1978 agreement to pay Frigitemp’s costs. Count seven alleges that Litton breached the contracts by wrongfully terminating Frigitemp on May 28, 1979.

The three counts at issue in the instant Motion are counts eight, nine and ten. Count eight seeks recovery in quantum meruit for Litton’s wrongful termination of the contracts after substantial completion by Frigitemp. Count nine seeks quantum meruit recovery for delays and disruptions *1380 causing Frigitemp’s performance to exceed the original scope of the contracts. Count ten seeks recovery on an unjust enrichment or third party beneficiary theory for sums Litton allegedly received based upon Frigitemp’s claims in a settlement agreement entered into with the Navy in June of 1978.

DISCUSSION

The instant Motion seeks dismissal of the counts alleging entitlement to extra-contractual relief based on quantum meruit (counts eight and nine) and unjust enrichment or third-party beneficiary relief (count ten).

1. STANDARD OF REVIEW

F.R.Civ.P. 56(c) provides that summary judgment should be granted where “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” A district court should not resolve contested material facts, but where there are no material facts in genuine dispute and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, summary judgment should be granted. See, e.g., Simler v. Conner, 372 U.S. 221, 83 S.Ct. 609, 9 L.Ed.2d 691 (1963); United States v. W.T. Grant Co., 345 U.S. 629, 73 S.Ct. 894, 97 L.Ed. 1303 (1953); Fountain v. Filson, 336 U.S. 681, 69 S.Ct. 754, 93 L.Ed. 971 (1949). In Bloomgarden v. Coyer, 479 F.2d 201 (D.C.Cir.1973), the court noted, “where, as here, the essential facts are not in dispute the question whether a quasi-contract should be erected is one of law, and as such is a proper subject for summary disposition.” Id. at 211 (citations omitted). Since each of the subject contracts provide that they are to be governed according to the law of the state of Mississippi the Court is of the opinion that whether Frigitemp is entitled to avoid the contracts and seek recovery under the theory of quantum meruit is a question of law to be determined according to law of the state of Mississippi.

2. CONTRACTUAL PROVISIONS

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Litton Systems, Inc. v. Frigitemp Corp., 613 F. Supp. 1377 (S.D. Miss. 1985).

613 F. Supp. 1377 (Litton Systems, Inc. v. Frigitemp Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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