Orlosky Inc. v. United States

64 Fed. Cl. 63, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 28, 2005 WL 318683
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedFebruary 2, 2005
DocketNo. 01-634C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 64 Fed. Cl. 63 (Orlosky Inc. 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
Orlosky Inc. v. United States, 64 Fed. Cl. 63, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 28, 2005 WL 318683 (uscfc 2005).

Opinion

OPINION and ORDER

CHRISTINE O.C. MILLER, Judge.

This case is before the court on defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment and plaintiffs cross-motion for summary judgment. After briefing was completed on June 1, 2004, the case did not progress until it was reassigned by the chief judge on December 9, 2004. Axiomatic it may not be, but cases that are neglected and ultimately reassigned are usually more difficult; moreover, the harm wrought by delay is more severe when the case — and this is one— cannot be resolved on aging dispositive motions. Due to the delay, the parties were given an opportunity to supplement the record with any new legal authority, as well as to appear for argument, which has been held.

This dispute concerns a contractor’s claim for damages based on alleged numerous delays, contractual breaches, and faulty specifications that caused plaintiff to incur additional uncompensated costs. It also involves a [65]*65series of pleaded admissions suggesting gross errors and erroneous assumptions on the part of plaintiff as a bidder, particularly its failure to conduct a pre-bid site inspection. This failure is central to defendant’s motion, by which defendant contends that plaintiff cannot recover for a differing site condition when information was discernable by a pre-bid site inspection. Plaintiff takes the position that the Government cannot avoid liability for misrepresenting information in the contract simply because plaintiff failed to confirm basic assumptions regarding the site. These two competing duties collide in this case.

FACTS

The following facts are undisputed, unless otherwise noted. On November 8, 1995, the United States Department of the Navy (the “Navy”) awarded Contract No. N62474-95C — 4778 to Orlosky Inc. (“plaintiff’), a Nevada corporation with its principal place of business in Jamul, California. The contract called for electrical work at San Nicolas Island, Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station, in Point Mugu, California. Work to be performed included a coordination study of the electrical high voltage system of San Nicolas Island and replacement of fuses and other electrical apparatuses, as well as resetting of reelosers, which are “switch[es] placed on a pole to provide emergency shut off in case of a short circuit.” Declaration of Joseph R. Orlosky, April 14, 2004,116. Due to alleged differing site conditions, inaccurate contract specifications, and delays, plaintiff incurred additional costs in performance and filed its certified claim to the contracting officer on November 17,1997. The contracting officer issued a final decision denying the claim on September 28,2001.

After the Navy contracting officer denied its claim, plaintiff filed a complaint in the Court of Federal Claims on November 9, 2001, seeking an upward adjustment to its contract in an amount of $565,481.00, plus interest, for plaintiff’s forced expenditures and uncompensated overhead caused primarily by differing site conditions and the Navy’s failure to provide correct data and specifications, and other delays. Plaintiff also seeks compensatory, incidental and consequential damages, and costs and attorneys’ fees. The complaint pleads: (1) breach of contract; (2) equitable adjustment due to differing site conditions; (3) equitable adjustment due to breach of implied warranty; (4) equitable adjustment due to delays; and (5) breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

On April 5, 1995, the Navy issued a presolicitation notice entitled “Provide Coordinated Electrical Distribution System For San Nicolas Island, NAWS, Point Mugu, CA.” The proposed work “inelude[d] repairing re-closers, selecting and installing electrical components for identified sections of the feeders in the electrical distribution system, and incidental related work.” Parties’ Stipulation To Facts (“Stip.”) filed Apr. 28, 2004, H 2. The formal solicitation issued on July 7, 1995, originally required work to commence within 15 days after award and to be completed within 120 days. Offers were due August 8, 1995. An amended solicitation extended the completion date to 200 calendar days after the commencement date. The solicitation included a liquidated damages clause.

The solicitation incorporated by reference the “Differing Site Conditions” clause, Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) § 52.236-2 (1984), and the “Site Investigation and Conditions Affecting the Work” clause, FAR § 52.236-3. The Differing Site Conditions clause provides, in part:

The Contractor shall promptly, and before the conditions are disturbed, give a written notice to the Contracting Officer of (1) subsurface or latent physical conditions at the site which differ materially from those indicated in this contract, or (2) unknown physical conditions at the site, of an unusual nature, which differ materially from those ordinarily encountered and generally recognized as inhering in work of the character provided for in the contract.

FAR § 52.236-2(a).

The “Site Investigation and Conditions Affecting the Work” clause provides, in part:

The Contractor acknowledges that it has taken steps reasonably necessary to ascertain the nature and location of the work, and that it has investigated and satisfied [66]*66itself as to the general and local conditions which can affect the work or its cost, including but not limited to ... (5) the character of equipment and facilities needed preliminary to and during work performance .... Any failure of the Contractor to take the actions described and acknowledged in this paragraph will not relieve the Contractor from responsibility for estimating properly the difficulty and cost of successfully performing the work[.]

FAR § 52.236-3(a).

The solicitation also included a clause entitled “San Nicolas Island Pre-Bid Site Visitation,” which — -as parties stipulate — “instructed” and “warned,” Stip. U 9, bidders of the following:

Bidders are expected to inspect the site where services are to be performed and to satisfy themselves to all general and local conditions that may affect the cost of performance of the contract to the extent such information is reasonably obtainable. In no event will a failure to inspect the site constitute grounds for withdrawal of a bid after opening or for a claim after award of the contract.

On page one of the solicitation, the Navy notified bidders that a site visit was scheduled to take place on July 26,1995.

The Navy conducted the site visit as planned, and six other bidders attended. Plaintiff did not attend the inspection, nor did any representatives of plaintiff perform any inspection of the premises at any time prior to bid. Plaintiff was awarded the contract on November 8,1995.

Sometime after award but before the preconstruction meeting held in December 1995, plaintiff conducted an inspection of the site, which revealed some alarming conditions regarding the reelosers. As best this court can wrest from the record, it appears that reclosers serve the basic function of a circuit breaker. Reelosers can be of at least two types. One is the overhead, pole-mounted type of recloser, which one might see as an electrical box placed high on electrical poles. A second type is a pad-mounted recloser, which usually is placed ground-level in tamper-proof structures. Either recloser requires different installation procedures.

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Related

Orlosky Inc. v. United States
68 Fed. Cl. 296 (Federal Claims, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
64 Fed. Cl. 63, 2005 U.S. Claims LEXIS 28, 2005 WL 318683, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/orlosky-inc-v-united-states-uscfc-2005.