Padilla v. United States

58 Fed. Cl. 585, 2003 U.S. Claims LEXIS 363, 2003 WL 22857370
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedNovember 26, 2003
DocketNo. 02-1122C
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 58 Fed. Cl. 585 (Padilla 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
Padilla v. United States, 58 Fed. Cl. 585, 2003 U.S. Claims LEXIS 363, 2003 WL 22857370 (uscfc 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

MARGOLIS, Senior Judge.

This action is before the Court on cross motions for summary judgment, pursuant to R. CT. FED. CL. 56 (“RCFC”). Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging defendant breached a service contract. Defendant moves for summary judgment, claiming that the contract at issue was a requirements contract under which plaintiff was paid in full for all orders it completed. Plaintiff opposes defendant’s motion and also moves for summary judgment, claiming first, that defendant breached the contract when, after Congress lifted a moratorium, defendant gave work included under the contract to a third party and second, that a modification to the contract created a binding obligation on defendant and thus, when defendant gave work under the modification to a third party it breached the contract. After careful consideration of both parties briefs and oral arguments, defendant’s motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is DENIED.

FACTS

On August 23, 1999, the United States Army (“Army” or “defendant”) entered into Contract No. DAJN02-99-D-0014 (“Contract 0014”) with Hermino Pagan Padilla (“Pagan Construction” or “Plaintiff’) for the repair, installation, and continuous maintenance of fences on the Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico base. The contract was a requirements contract, which specifically incorporated FAR 52.216-21. The contract obligated the Army to order all of its requirements for the supplies and services specified in the Contract Schedule from Pagan Construction and, in turn, required Pagan Construction to provide all the supplies and services ordered by the Army during the contract period.

The contract had various Contract Lines (“CLINs”), which divided the work under the contract into different categories. Under each CLIN there was a list of line items, which laid out the specific supplies and services that might be necessary to carry out the work specified by each CLIN. For the base year of the contract there were only two CLINS — 0001 and 0002. CLIN 0001 was for the installation of chain link fences at the base. Under CLIN 0001, there were line items which represented the different supplies and services the Army thought would be necessary to install the chain link fences. Under CLIN 0002, there were line items for the maintenance and repair of the chain link fences at the base.

The contract was originally set to run from the date of award through June 30, 2000 (a period of one year), and had a total estimated value of $599,184. Two subsequent modifications extended the contract period until December 31, 2000, and increased the total estimated value to $1,971,188. First, Modification P00002 (“Modification 2”) increased the estimated quantities under certain line items, thereby increasing the total estimated value of the contract. Second, and more importantly for this action, Modification P00004 (“Modification 4”), added a line item (SUB-CLIN 0002BV), under CLIN 0002, for the installation and removal of fence coverings on the Base and also expanded the scope of work under the contract to include other USARSO properties in Puerto Rico, including Ramey Base, Aguadilla; Camp Santiago, Salinas; and Isla Grande, San Juan. It specified that the maximum quantity that could be ordered under this Une item was 10,000 linear feet of “shade fabric fence covering,” for a maximum amount of $51,500.

During the contract period, the Army issued 16 delivery orders for a total value of $1,276,898.93. Pagan completed, and was paid in full, for each of the 16 delivery orders. Two of these delivery orders, both for the installation of fabric fence covering, were issued pursuant to Modification 4. The first, Order No. 9, issued on June 15, 2000, caUed for 2,330 Unear feet of fence covering for a total value of $11,999.50. The second, Order No. 10, issued on June 22, 2000, called for 5,048 linear feet of fence covering for a total value of $25,997.20. Pagan Construction [588]*588completed, and was paid in full, for both of these delivery orders.

On October 30, 2000, Congress imposed a moratorium on new construction at Fort Buchanan. Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2001, Pub.L. No. 106-398, § 1507, 114 Stat. 1654 (2000) [hereinafter “moratorium” or “construction freeze”]. The moratorium had the effect of halting performance under the contract. The last delivery order under the contract was issued on October 30, 2000. On December 31, 2000, Contract 0014 expired. The last payment was made and accepted, without objections, on January 30, 2001.

On March 8, 2002,14 months after the last payment under the contract, Pagan Construction filed a claim with the U.S. Army South, Fort Buchanan Directorate of Contracting alleging that Pagan Construction and the Army entered into a contract on June 15, 2000, under which Pagan Construction was to remove an old fence and install a new fence. According to Pagan Construction the fence was to be 10,000 linear feet in size, and the Army was to pay Pagan Construction $1,971,188. Pagan Construction claimed the Army breached this contract when it gave this work to a third party. On March 25, 2002, the Contracting Officer denied Pagan Construction’s claim and this lawsuit followed.

DISCUSSION

In this action, the Army moves for summary judgment, arguing that the contract was a requirements contract, under which the Army paid Pagan Construction in full for all delivery orders issued and performed. In response, Pagan Construction opposes defendant’s motion and, in the alternative, moves for summary judgment. Pagan Construction argues that it entered into a binding contract with the Army for the removal and installation of fence coverings at Fort Buchanan; that a moratorium on new construction was put in place; that after Congress lifted the moratorium, the Army gave the remainder of the contract to a third party, thereby breaching the contract. During oral arguments, defendant stated that to its knowledge the moratorium had not been lifted. While this creates an issue of fact, it is not “material,” in that it would affect the outcome of the case, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248,106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), and thus does not prevent summary judgment.

When there are no disputes over material facts and the only issues to be determined involve questions of law, summary judgment is appropriate. R Ct. Fed. Cl. 56(c); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In this case, there are two main issues — (1) whether the Army breached Contract 0014 when it ordered similar work from a third party, after Contract 0014 expired and (2) whether Modification 4 created a binding obligation on the Army to purchase the maximum quantity of supplies and services therein specified. Because both of these issues involve solely questions of law, this case is ripe for summary judgment.

1. Moratorium

Pagan Construction first alleges that the Army breached Contract 0014 when, after Congress lifted the moratorium, it gave work included under the contract to a third party. Plaintiff does not claim that the Army gave the work to a third party during the contract period. Rather, it appears that Pagan Construction has two bases for this breach claim. First, it asserts that the Army was obligated to give the work specified under the contract only to Pagan Construction. Therefore, when the Army gave it to a third party, it breached the contract.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 Fed. Cl. 585, 2003 U.S. Claims LEXIS 363, 2003 WL 22857370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/padilla-v-united-states-uscfc-2003.