M.A. DeAtley Construction, Inc. v. United States

75 Fed. Cl. 812, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 98, 2007 WL 983166
United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided March 30, 2007·No. No. 04-1052C·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

OPINION

DAMICH, Chief Judge.

This case is before the Court on Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment with respect to the Defendant’s three counterclaims in its amended answer, filed by leave of the Court on January 31, 2006. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant has acquired no evidence during discovery to support its three counterclaims—which arise under the False Claims Act, the anti-fraud provision of the Contract Disputes Act, and the Forfeiture of Fraudulent Claims Act. The gravamen of Plaintiffs motion is that Defendant’s counterclaims should not survive because it has failed to make a showing sufficient to establish the “essential elements” of its counterclaims. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs motion is DENIED.

BACKGROUND1

On February 9, 2001, the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Western Federal Lands Highway Division (“Government” or ‘WFLHD”), awarded Plaintiff a contract (the “Contract”) to reconstruct a portion of the Flowery Trail Road in the state of Washington. Compl. H 4. Part of the reconstruction process required Plaintiff to lay crushed rock, known as aggregate D base (“aggregate”), which was to serve as a foundation beneath the road’s asphalt pavement. Def.’s Resp. at 1-2. Plaintiff chose to use a Government-designated source and began laying the aggregate in August 2002. Compl. H1Í 6, 8. Plaintiff soon discovered that the aggregate failed to satisfy contract standards. Id. H1Í 8, 9. After informing the Government of the aggregate’s deficiency, Plaintiff offered to provide the Government with a credit in the amount of $21,425.00, or 25% of the Contract price, rather than replace the deficient aggregate. Compl. H10. The Government declined Plaintiffs offer and instructed Plaintiff to remove the aggregate and replace it with new aggregate. Id. After completing the replacement, Plaintiff filed a certified claim with the contracting officer (“CO”) on September 18, 2003, seeking $277,833.55 in “additional compensation” for the costs associated with the added work.2 Aff. of Mark DeAtley, App. A at 2-3. The CO denied Plaintiffs claim on December 11, 2003. Compl. H15.

On June 22, 2004, Plaintiff filed its complaint against the Government seeking damages and/or an equitable adjustment of an amount to be determined at trial. See Compl. 111118-51. Following the close of fact discovery on December 16, 2005, Defendant filed an amended answer by leave of the Court. The amended answer includes an affirmative defense of illegality due to the submission of a false claim as well as three counterclaims pursuant to the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1), the anti-fraud provision of the Contract Disputes Act, 31 U.S.C. § 604, and the Forfeiture of Fraudulent Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2514. Am. Answer H1152, 71-83. Defendant alleges that Plaintiff overstated its certified claim for $277,843.55 by $63,164.98. Am. Answer 1168. Specifically, Defendant alleges that Plaintiffs certified claim is false to the extent it includes:

a. “amounts for both the initial production and placement of the rejected aggregate totaling $23,767.34, and for the production and placement of the replacement aggregate”
b. “labor and equipment costs for placing aggregate on sections of the roadbed on which none of the rejected aggregate had been placed”
[814]*814c. “testing costs that were already paid for by the Government under the contract”
d. “testing costs that were incurred solely to establish its claim.”

Def.’s Am. Answer 111163, 64, 65, 66. Plaintiff categorically denies these allegations. Pl.’s Answer HH11-14.

On March 1, 2006, Plaintiff filed a motion to re-open fact discovery for the purpose of discovering facts concerning Defendant’s counterclaims. On July 10, 2006, the Court deferred ruling on this motion and ordered Defendant to file a supplemental statement which required it to

cite to the specific source relied upon and attach the source as an exhibit to its supplemental statement. If Defendant has relied upon statements made by an individual in formulating its allegations, Defendant shall state the name of the individual. To the extent Defendant’s allegations are conclusions drawn from a particular source, Defendant shall provide its reasoning. Before filing its supplemental statement, Defendant shall confer with Plaintiff to determine whether Plaintiff is in possession of each and every source underlying Defendant’s allegations. In its statement, Defendant shall indicate whether Plaintiff is in possession of each source relied upon.

Court’s July 10, 2006 Order at 4. Defendant filed its supplemental statement on July 21, 2006, together with each source document it has relied upon for its counterclaims. In addition, Defendant made the following assertion in its supplemental statement:

As a preliminary matter, the parties have conferred regarding M.A. DeAtley Construction, Inc.’s (“DeAtley”) pending motion to reopen discovery for the limited purpose of discovering the facts underlying defendant’s counter-claims. It is the understanding of Government counsel that counsel for DeAtley has accepted her representations that the Government’s counterclaims are based upon DeAtley’s certified claim and related contract documents and that the Government will not be calling any Government employee to testify about the merits of the counterclaim, other than, perhaps, agency counsel, whose testimony will be limited to outlining the facts as contained in DeAtley’s certified claim. Any testimony elicited regarding this matter from DeAtley’s employees will be done through cross-examination.

Def.’s July 21, 2006, Supp. Statement at 1. Plaintiff filed its own supplemental statement on August 7, 2006, stating that it did not seek any additional discovery based upon Defendant’s representations. On August 8, 2006, Plaintiff filed a status report stating that it intended to file a motion for summary judgment on Defendant’s counterclaims. The Court found as moot Plaintiffs motion to reopen discovery on August 16, 2006. On September 13, 2006, Plaintiff filed its motion for summary judgment as to Defendant’s counterclaims.

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

Pursuant to Rule 56(c) of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”), summary judgment is appropriate when “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 judgment as a matter of law.” RCFC 56(c); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The Court’s function is not to weigh the evidence, but rather to determine whether there is a genuine issue as to a material fact—that is, one that would change the outcome of the litigation. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

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M.A. DeAtley Construction, Inc. v. United States, 75 Fed. Cl. 812, 2007 U.S. Claims LEXIS 98, 2007 WL 983166 (uscfc 2007).

75 Fed. Cl. 812 (M.A. DeAtley Construction, Inc. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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