Ross Engineering Co. v. United States

120 F. Supp. 188, 128 Ct. Cl. 27, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 119
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedApril 6, 1954
DocketNo. 48832
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 120 F. Supp. 188 (Ross Engineering 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
Ross Engineering Co. v. United States, 120 F. Supp. 188, 128 Ct. Cl. 27, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 119 (cc 1954).

Opinion

Madden, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This case is before ns on the issue whether, under the facts as proved, the plaintiff has legal standing to recover under the War Contract Hardship Claims Act, commonly known as the Lucas Act.

The Lucas Act, Act of August 7, 1946, C. 864 § 1-6, as amended June 25, 1948, C. 646 § 37, 62 Stat. 992, 41 U. S. C. 106 note, provides that a contractor or subcontractor who furnished work, supplies or services during the war period to a department or agency of the Government which had power to give relief to contractors under the First War Powers Act, and who asked for such relief, and who suffered a loss in his performance of his contract, which loss was not compensated by profits on other Government contracts during the period, may be compensated by the contracting department for his losses, and if not compensated, may sue in this court for compensation for losses incurred without fault or negligence on his part in the performance of his contract or subcontract.

The plaintiff had a contract, during the war period, tu construct for the Navy Department an Armed Guard School at Camp Bradford in Virginia. The Navy Department had the power to give relief to contractors under the First War Powers Act. The plaintiff lost money on certain phases of the performance of its contract. It requested relief for those losses under the First War Powers Act. It was given no' relief by the Navy. After the enactment of the Lucas Act the plaintiff took the steps prescribed by that Act to qualify itself to sue in this court, and thereafter did bring this suit.

For reasons of economy the hearing held before our commissioner was limited to the taking of evidence bearing on [30]*30the causes of the plaintiff’s losses, with particular reference to whether they were due to the plaintiff’s fault or negligence in the performance of the contract. The fault or negligence question has been argued before the court, and also the question whether losses resulting from bad weather are compensable under the Lucas Act.

The Government asserts fault or negligence, within the meaning of the Lucas Act, against the plaintiff in relation to the plaintiff’s losses in two situations, each of which involved a mistake in the plaintiff’s bid.

In the first situation, the person who computed that part of the bid relating to some road work, mistook a marking of square yards on a drawing for square feet, hence he estimated only one-ninth as much road to be built as actually had to be built. Before the contract was made, the mistake was called to the plaintiff’s attention, but the plaintiff thought it could make up for the loss by its profit on other parts of the contract, so it stood by its bid. It lost heavily, of course, on the building of the roads.

In our recent case of Spicer v. United States, 127 C. Cls. 428, decided February 2, 1954, we dealt with the question of an unduly low bid as fault or negligence within the meaning of the Lucas Act. We concluded that it was not such fault or negligence; that the Government having, after the completion of the contract, generously decided to compensate the contractor for his losses, was still only paying for the value which it had received, and which it would have had to pay for in the contract price if the bid had not been unduly low. We adhere to the views expressed in the Spicer case.

The other low bid situation in the instant case had to do with so-called collateral equipment. This was furniture, office machines, tables, bunks, fans, etc. The contract said that the contractor should furnish and install the collateral equipment; that he should include a cash allowance of $130,000 for furnishing the equipment; and that if it cost more than that to furnish it, he would be compensated for the additional cost. The plaintiff, in making its bid, misread the contract to mean that the $130,000 was for both the furnishing and installing of the equipment, and that if it cost more than that to furnish and install it, the plaintiff would be [31]*31compensated for the additional cost. It therefore did not include anything in its bid for installing the equipment, which work cost it a considerable sum. We conclude, as we have concluded with regard to the road situation, that the mistake in bidding was not fault or negligence which barred recovery under the Lucas Act.

The plaintiff’s work was delayed by an excessive number of rainy days. To make up for the lost time, it worked its employees overtime and paid a large amount of premium pay for the overtime work. It thereby suffered a loss. The Government says that a loss due to bad weather does not come within the reason of the Lucas Act, since contractors in peace time as well as wartime have bad luck with weather, and suffer losses therefrom. The Government does not, of course, urge fault or negligence in connection with the weather. We see nothing in the Lucas Act which authorizes us to limit the kinds of losses for which Congress granted compensation to losses peculiar to wartime. It would be difficult to administer the Act by such a test.

The Government says that the plaintiff has not satisfactorily proved that the overtime employment was caused by excessive rain. If it was not, it would seem that the loss was still recoverable under the Lucas Act unless it was found to be due to some fault or negligence of the plaintiff. We have not so found.

The Government says that the plaintiff had legal claims which it waived, and hence it has no rights under the Lucas Act. The plaintiff, in a case reported in 118 C. Cls. 527, sued the Government for breach of contract, claiming as damages the losses incurred on account of the collateral equipment situation and the excessive overtime resulting from delays caused by excessive rain. The court held that the plaintiff’s asserted construction of the contract provision relating to collateral equipment was wrong, and that it had received all that it was entitled to under the contract in that regard. We held that because the plaintiff had not taken an appeal from the refusal of the contracting officer to grant an extension of time on account of excessive rains, it could not assert that refusal here as a breach of contract.

[32]*32The Government says that as to the mistakes in the bid relating to the roads and the collateral equipment, the plaintiff had a legal right to withdraw its bid, because of the mistake known to the Government when the bid was accepted; that the plaintiff chose not to take advantage of this right and thereby waived its legal claim. It says that as to the rainy weather, the plaintiff had a right to an extension of time, assuming that the rains were excessive, as the plaintiff says they were, and it would have received the extension if' it had made its appeal. The Government reminds us that,, in ordinary litigation, one cannot waive his legal rights and. seek equitable relief instead.

It may be useful to look again at the Lucas Act, the statute-here applicable. It says that a war contractor who suffered losses not due to his fault or negligence, in the performance-of his contract, and who, during the prescribed period, requested relief from those losses under the First War Powers. Act, shall be compensated for those losses if he takes certain steps prescribed by the Act. Thus briefly stated, the Act-seems plain and simple.

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Related

United States v. Dunning Construction Company
223 F.2d 723 (Tenth Circuit, 1955)
United States v. Chas. M. Dunning Construction Co.
223 F.2d 723 (Tenth Circuit, 1955)
Ross Engineering Co.
131 Ct. Cl. 802 (Court of Claims, 1955)

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Bluebook (online)
120 F. Supp. 188, 128 Ct. Cl. 27, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ross-engineering-co-v-united-states-cc-1954.