Railway Logistics International v. United States

103 Fed. Cl. 252, 2012 U.S. Claims LEXIS 15, 2012 WL 171895
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJanuary 17, 2012
DocketNo. 09-14C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 103 Fed. Cl. 252 (Railway Logistics International 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
Railway Logistics International v. United States, 103 Fed. Cl. 252, 2012 U.S. Claims LEXIS 15, 2012 WL 171895 (uscfc 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HODGES, Judge.

This is a breach of contract case against the United States. Plaintiff Railway Logistics International (RLI) seeks over $6 million for defendant’s alleged breach of contracts valued at less than $2.5 million. The Government filed fraud counterclaims against RLI based on the testimony of Mr. Frederick Simon, the owner of Railway Logistics, and others who testified on plaintiffs behalf.

RLI’s claims were fraudulent in all respects. We enter judgment for defendant on its counterclaims pursuant to the False Claims Act, the Contract Disputes Act, and the Special Plea in Fraud, for the reasons and in the amounts described below.

I. BACKGROUND

The Government awarded RLI two contracts in late 2004, to provide materials for rehabilitation of the Iraqi Republic Railway. Contract W914NS-05-M-1110 (Contract # 10) covered supply and delivery of three hundred “complete wheel sets and axle boxes for Y25C bogies” valued at $1,350,00o.1 Contract number W914NS-04-M-0018 (Contract # 18) called for delivery of certain locomotive parts valued at $1,076,752.36. Contracts # 10 and # 18 required that RLI complete delivery of goods and services within 180 days after the effective date of the contract, which would have been during May of 2005. Problems arose with performance of the contracts almost immediately.

RLI provided the Government a small portion of the locomotive parts required under Contract # 18 in August 2005, three months after plaintiff was to have completed delivery on both contracts. The contract value of the parts was $71,569.80, which defendant paid. Plaintiff assured the Government that the remaining parts were “on their way,” but it made no other shipments pursuant to Contract # 18.2

Confusion and delay surrounded performance of Contract # 10 for wheel sets and axle boxes. Plaintiff asked for drawings or blueprints for the wheel sets soon after the contracts were awarded, complaining that many manufacturers provide the “Y25C wheel set” and each had different design attributes. Plaintiff claimed that it could not get price quotes from suppliers without such drawings.

Defendant responded that the wheel sets were standard, and that RLI was responsible under the contract for providing blueprints of the wheel sets, not the other way around. Plaintiff then submitted drawings to the Contracting Office for approval, with narrative portions in Polish. The Government would not sign off on these drawings. Later, the Contracting Office provided designs of wheel sets to RLI, but RLI claimed that the drawings did not comport with its contract.

Another point of confusion alleged by RLI was the contract’s requirement that wheel sets be assembled upon delivery. RLI asked that the wheel sets be shipped disassembled for efficiency and for “security reasons.” The Government did not object, but reaffirmed its contract requirement that the wheel sets be delivered assembled. Mr. Simon confirmed his understanding that the wheel sets were to be delivered assembled, but later disputed the assembly requirement.3

[254]*254Mr. Simon advised the Contracting Office two months later, in October 2005, that the first one hundred wheel sets would be shipped within the week. This did not occur. RLI delivered fifteen wheel sets in December 2005, six months after the delivery of three hundred wheel sets was due under the contract. The fifteen wheel sets were only partially assembled. A key part of the bearing assembly, the “inner race,” was not attached mechanically to the axle. The shipment did not include axle boxes as required by the contract.4

Plaintiff did not remedy the assembly problem for the fifteen delivered wheel sets, and it did not provide the necessary axle boxes. It did not deliver additional wheel sets. Plaintiff contended that its difficulty arose from frequent changes in the Government’s Contracting Office. These excuses were not credible, however, and if true, they would not have justified plaintiffs utter failure to meet the terms of the contract.

The contracting officer issued a cure notice in February 2006. A new contracting officer, Technical Sergeant Nicola Natale, assumed responsibility for the contracts in March. She suspended the cure notice in an attempt to effect delivery of the needed items by modifying the contract. Sergeant Natale testified that the railroad equipment plaintiff had promised to deliver was important to the Government’s efforts in Iraq, as the Iraqi Railroad was in desperate need of the items. Moreover, the Contracting Office was not assured of new funding for any follow-on contract should RLI fail. She proposed a compromise.

Sergeant Natale proposed that defendant would pay for the incomplete wheel sets already delivered if RLI would remedy the assembly problem. RLI would also provide a number of wheel sets representative of the amount of money remaining on the contract, provided that the remainder of the contract be completed before any payment would be issued to RLI. Despite this proviso, Mr. Simon insisted on prepayment for the incomplete wheel sets. Technical Sergeant Natale terminated the contracts for convenience in July 2006.

Plaintiffs Damages Claim

Plaintiffs certified claim for equitable adjustments and costs at termination totaled $6,438,000. Its costs of $2.4 million were based on plaintiffs “invoices from subcontractors and vendors and [RLI’s] internal accounting system.” Equitable adjustments resulting from defendant’s alleged delays and changes were $4.05 million, according to plaintiffs claim. The only support for plaintiffs cost claim was a spreadsheet that defendant received among its discovery documents.

RLI cited the termination for convenience provision of the Federal Acquisition Regulations as legal authority for its cost claim. That FAR provision, which was made a part of the contracts, states:

The Government reserves the right to terminate this contract, or any part hereof, for its sole convenience.... Subject to the terms of this contract, the Contractor shall be paid a percentage of the contract price reflecting the percentage of the work performed prior to the notice of termination, plus reasonable charges the Contractor can demonstrate ... have resulted from the termination.

48 C.F.R. § 52.212^t(Z); see also 48 C.F.R. § 31.205-33 (Professional and consultant services costs).

Plaintiff represented that its equitable adjustment claim was reimbursement for expenses resulting from defendant’s alleged changes to the manner and method of per[255]*255formance of the contracts, its failure to provide adequate specifications, and its lack of cooperation in plaintiff’s performance of the contracts. For example, plaintiff alleged that defendant did not provide required technical specifications, and repeatedly modified the nature and method of delivery of the items to be supplied under the contract. Plaintiff had no support for these allegations.

RLI cited the Changes Clause of the FAR, also made a part of the contracts, as the legal basis for its equitable adjustments:

The Contracting Officer may at any time, by written order, ...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
103 Fed. Cl. 252, 2012 U.S. Claims LEXIS 15, 2012 WL 171895, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/railway-logistics-international-v-united-states-uscfc-2012.