Roflan Co. v. United States

32 Cont. Cas. Fed. 73,207, 7 Cl. Ct. 242, 1985 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1075
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJanuary 11, 1985
DocketNo. 609-81C
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 32 Cont. Cas. Fed. 73,207 (Roflan Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roflan Co. v. United States, 32 Cont. Cas. Fed. 73,207, 7 Cl. Ct. 242, 1985 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1075 (cc 1985).

Opinion

OPINION ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

REGINALD W. GIBSON, Judge:

In this contract action, before the court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment, plaintiff, The Roflan Company (Roflan), seeks review under the standards of the Wunderlich Act, 41 U.S.C. §§ 321-[244]*244322,1 of two adverse decisions of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA), Nos. 23141 and 23636, which were jointly tried on July 17, 1979. Through its appeal docketed as No. 23141, plaintiff sought to reverse the contracting officer’s final decision of June 27, 1978, terminating for default (pursuant to the standard Default clause) plaintiff’s contract, to supply 40-watt light fixtures to the Defense General Supply Center (DGSC), because plaintiff failed to meet the requirements of the revised delivery schedule. Additionally, through its appeal docketed as No. 23636, plaintiff concomitantly sought to reverse the contracting officer’s final decision of January 23, 1979, assessing $21,160.05 against the plaintiff for excess reprocurement costs incurred by the defendant.

On March 7, 1980 (certified on March 14, 1980), the ASBCA denied both appeals, concluding that termination for default was proper and that The Roflan Company was liable to the government for the excess cost of the reprocurement for the undelivered light fixtures. However, pursuant to a stipulation entered into by the parties, the quantification of such excess costs, but not the method of calculation, was deferred until such time as the government presented evidence to the plaintiff in proof of the actual excess costs incurred. Thereafter, on September 29, 1980, plaintiff filed with the ASBCA a Motion For Further Hearings regarding ASBCA appeals Nos. 23141 and 23636, averring that it would be discriminatory and inequitable to impose the assessed damages because such an imposition in similar circumstances had been consistently and widely waived and ignored by the government. Notwithstanding said contention, on October 23,1980 the Board refused to rule on the merits of said motion inasmuch as it was not timely filed within the permissible time frame prescribed, pursuant to the ASBCA’s rules.2

Following the foregoing adverse rulings, in its petition to this court for a Wunderlich Act review, plaintiff avers that said decisions of the ASBCA are not entitled to finality in that they “are arbitrary, capricious and grossly erroneous and are not supported by substantial evidence, and contain errors of law.” Plaintiff further avers that the errors made by the Board in its decision of March 14, 1980, include:

“A. The finding by the [BJoard that reliance by the [gjovernment on an erroneous report concerning the condition of the mold to justify a termination of the contract is irrelevant.
B. The finding by the [BJoard that plaintiff failed to sustain the burden of showing that the failure to deliver was caused by factors beyond the control of, and without the fault or negligence of the plaintiff and its subcontractor.
[245]*245C. The finding by the [B]oard that there was no excusable reason for the plaintiff’s failure to deliver.”

With regard to the ASBCA decision of October 23,1980, asserting, inter alia, a lack of jurisdiction, plaintiff alleges that it was erroneous as a matter of law.

Against the foregoing background, plaintiff has moved for summary judgment overruling the decisions of the ASBCA in that said decisions are not supported by substantial evidence and therefore are not entitled to finality. Defendant cross-motions for summary judgment and contends that the ASBCA’s decisions should be given finality, as contemplated by the standards of the Wunderlich Act because they are supported by substantial evidence, are neither arbitrary nor capricious and are correct as a matter of law.

Premised on a thorough review of the pleadings of the parties, including the cross-motions for summary judgment and the administrative file, the court concludes that the ASBCA’s decision upholding the contracting officer’s decision to terminate for default the contract with plaintiff and to hold it liable for excess reprocurement costs is supported by substantial evidence and is correct as a matter of law. Additionally, the court finds that the ASBCA decision, denying plaintiff’s Motion For Further Hearings because the motion was untimely filed, is likewise correct as a matter of law. Jurisdiction in this action is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1491 and 41 U.S.C. §§ 321-322.

FACTS

ASBCA Appeal No. 23141

The facts hereinafter stated were found by the ASBCA, are supported by substantial evidence, and are properly derived from the administrative record. Ordnance Research, Inc. v. United States, 221 Ct.Cl. 641, 645-47, 609 F.2d 462, 465-66 (1979).

On March 24, 1977, the government, through the Defense General Supply Center, issued IFB DSA-400-77-B-1841, requesting bids to supply 3,300 40-watt light fixtures, NSN 6210-00-215-6355. Through a TWX on May 12, 1977, plaintiff’s bid was accepted and thereafter on May 19, 1977, it was formally awarded contract No. DSA-400-77-C-2239 (2239) as the lowest of the three responsive bidders. Subject contract was a firm fixed-price supply contract that required Roflan to deliver, on or before December 23, 1977, 3,300 light fixtures, at a unit price of $20.50 for a total contract price of $67,650. In Finding No. 5, the ASBCA found that “appellant had previously subcontracted the molding of the castings, which were needed for the manufacture of the light fixtures, to Kiesel Manufacturing of Batavia, New York (Kiesel).” While the administrative record is void of any definitive documents establishing said fact, the testimony of Thomas Roche, president of Roflan, was that the requirements of contract No. 2239 were placed with Kiesel through an increase in the quantity of a pre-existing purchase order. Given the foregoing supplementary finding, which is undisputed, we conclude that the substance of Finding No. 5 is supported by substantial evidence. Ordnance Research, Inc. v. United States, 221 Ct.Cl. at 646, 609 F.2d at 465. Included in the contract was the standard Default clause which was incorporated therein by reference, 32 C.F.R. 7-103.11 (Aug. 1969), and a J2 option clause that gave the government the right to increase the stipulated quantity under the contract by 100 percent.

Exercising this increased quantity option, the government issued, on May 26, 1977, Modification P00001 which required an additional 3,300 units to be delivered on or before January 23, 1978, and also increased the total contract price by $65,650 to $135,-300. Thereafter, in June 1977, The Roflan Company was notified by its subcontractor, Kiesel, that the mold Roflan had previously supplied it to manufacture the 40-watt light fixtures had a crack. Kiesel was authorized to repair the mold and Roflan in turn paid Kiesel $500 for the repair on November 10, 1977. (Tr. 25.) Additionally, on [246]*246November 5, 1977, there was an electrical fire in Kiesel’s plant.

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Bluebook (online)
32 Cont. Cas. Fed. 73,207, 7 Cl. Ct. 242, 1985 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1075, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roflan-co-v-united-states-cc-1985.