Lowell O. West Lumber Sales v. United States

160 F. Supp. 429, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2509
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMarch 31, 1958
DocketNo. 36214
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 160 F. Supp. 429 (Lowell O. West Lumber Sales v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lowell O. West Lumber Sales v. United States, 160 F. Supp. 429, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2509 (N.D. Cal. 1958).

Opinion

ROCHE, Judge.

This action was originally brought by plaintiff, Lowell 0. West Lumber Sales, against defendant, United States of America, to quiet title to certain real property in Tehama County, California. Through amended and supplemental pleadings the court is required to (1) interpret the provisions of Contract No. AF 33(038)-15531, as amended, (2) determine the liability of plaintiff on a promissory note, and (3) determine whether or not defendant is entitled to certain stipulated amounts for price revision.

The record shows that Lowell O. West and defendant, acting through its representative, Jennings B. Straley, signed a document titled Fixed Price Contract For Services, Department of the Air Force, No. AF 33(038)-15531. Clause 1 of this agreement, in pertinent part, provides :

“(a) The Contractor [plaintiff] shall furnish and supply to the Government lumber storage services and special lumber millwork services in connection with Government-owned lumber delivered by the Government to the Contractor’s plant located at Richfield, Tehama County, California, * * *.
“(b) The Contractor shall furnish said services when and as the Government may make Calls for hereunder during the period set forth in Clause 3 hereof.
[430]*430“(c) Calls by the Government hereunder will be made by the Contracting Officer, Headquarters Air Materiel Command, by written notification to the Contractor. Each such Call shall set forth the services to be furnished, the time of performance and the estimated cost. Immediately upon receipt of each such Call, the Contractor, subject to the provisions of paragraph (e) of this Clause 1 and paragraph (c) of Clause 2 shall proceed to furnish the required services.”

Plaintiff contends that this basic agreement, signed by the parties, is a contract which obligated the defendant to have all of its requirements for lumber storage and special millwork services in the western area of the United States furnished by plaintiff. Or, to put it another way, that the basic agreement is a “requirements” type contract.

It is the contention of defendant that the basic agreement is not a binding contract, that a binding contract was never intended, that a contract came into existence only upon the issuance of a Call pursuant to provisions of the basic agreement, and that the contract was for the services and the duration specified in the Call.

The record shows that West, who signed the basic agreement for plaintiff, sat in the courtroom throughout the trial but failed to take the stand to testify as to his understanding of the basic agreement at the time it was signed. However, the testimony of Straley, who signed for the defendant, is enlightening on this point. He testified as follows:

“Q. Did you at any time state to Mr. West that the Government was obligated to make calls upon him?
A. No, sir.
“Q. Did you at any time state to Mr. West that the Government was in any way committing itself to make calls upon him? A. No, sir.
******
“Q. Did you state to Mr. West that the only obligation on the Government was that if it wanted to make calls, it could? A. I don’t know whether I specifically made that statement. I. did explain to him the operation of a call contract, and that the step which makes it an effective contract is when the call is issued, but there is no commitment to issue a call.” Transcript pp. 170-171.
“Q. Mr. Straley, when you entered into these negotiations with Lowell 0. West Lumber Sales, was it your intention to obligate the Government to purchase all its requirements of services from the Lowell 0. West Lumber Sales? A. It was. not my intention to obligate the Government to purchase any of their requirements. It was my duty and intention to make an agreement by which they could obtain these services to the extent that it was determined they desired to cover the requirements that they had.
“Q. And that was determined pursuant to each call; is that correct? A. Right. And that determination was made by the Supply Division, not by the Contracting Division.” Transcript pp. 176-177.

Plaintiff’s contention that the basic agreement is a “requirements” type contract is based upon the decision of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals in Appeal of Lowell O. West Lumber Sales, ASBCA 2560. The AS-BCA, acting for the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, hears appeals by contractors from findings of fact determined pursuant to a disputes clause such as Clause 12 of the basic' agreement.1 32 C.F.R. § 30.1, Part 1,. [431]*431paragraph 4 (1954). A decision of the Board is final only as to questions of fact arising under the contract. See United States v. Wunderlich, 1951, 342 U.S. 98, 72 S.Ct. 154, 96 L.Ed. 113. Since characterization of the basic agreement itself is a question of law, the Board’s holding that this is a “requirements” type contract is not binding upon the court. See United States v. Lund-strom, 9 Cir., 1943, 139 F.2d 792.

The interpretation of the original transaction is clear. Defendant was under no obligation to plaintiff but might make Calls for services during the period from October 6, 1950 through December 31, 1952 which plaintiff would then perform. Because defendant was not obliged to take its requirements from plaintiff, the basic agreement lacks the necessary mutuality of obligation to be a valid contract. Streich v. General Motors Corp., 1955, 5 Ill.App.2d 485, 126 N.E.2d 389; accord, Cold Blast Transp. Co. v. Kansas City Bolt & Nut Co., 8 Cir., 1902, 114 F. 77, 57 L.R.A. 696. Consequently, a contract came into existence only upon defendant’s issuing a Call under the basic agreement, and the contract was for the services and duration .specified in the Call. Accord, Fowler’s Bootery v. Selby Shoe Co., 1938, 273 Ky. 670, 117 S.W.2d 931.

In 1951 and 1952, plaintiff and defendant executed three supplements to Contract No. AF 33(038) — 15531. Supplemental Agreement No. 1 established a procedure for renegotiating the prices of the services after they had been performed. Supplemental Agreement No. '2 increased by $2,500,000 the total amount authorized to cover Calls which defendant might make for plaintiff’s services. Because it obligated Government funds in excess of the amount which a contracting officer could obligate solely by his own action, this Supplement was reviewed and approved by the Department of the Air Force. Supplemental Agreement No. 3, entered into in December 1952, extended the period of performance of the basic agreement from December 31, 1952 through December 31, 1955 and set forth the manner in which plaintiff was to refund $396,559, an amount determined under price renegotiation as the excessive compensation which plaintiff had received between October 6, 1950 and June 30, 1952.

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Bluebook (online)
160 F. Supp. 429, 1958 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lowell-o-west-lumber-sales-v-united-states-cand-1958.