St. Johns Oil Co. v. United States

33 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,182, 12 Cl. Ct. 139, 1987 U.S. Claims LEXIS 36
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 10, 1987
DocketNo. 636-86C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 33 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,182 (St. Johns Oil 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
St. Johns Oil Co. v. United States, 33 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,182, 12 Cl. Ct. 139, 1987 U.S. Claims LEXIS 36 (cc 1987).

Opinion

ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

WHITE, Senior Judge.

The plaintiff, St. Johns Oil Company (St. Johns), is a Florida corporation that is engaged in business as a wholesale distributor of motor fuel. It sues the United States in this case for a total of $39,312.41 (plus other relief), allegedly due in connection with gasoline supplies furnished by the plaintiff to Navy Exchanges in Georgia and Florida.

The case comes before the court at this time on the defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction, filed December 12, 1986, on the plaintiff’s response in opposition to the motion, filed January 21, 1987, and on the defendant's reply to the response, filed February 2, 1987.

For the purpose of passing on the defendant’s motion, the court will regard the facts alleged in the complaint as being true and correct. These facts are summarized in the following part of the order.

[140]*140 Facts Alleged in Complaint

At the times material to this case, the Navy Resale and Services Support Office (NAVRESSO) was charged by the Navy Department with the duty (among other things) of procuring gasoline supplies to be sold at retail by Navy Exchange service stations in the Southeastern States.

Pursuant to contract No. 060-100-81-C0041 (the Georgia contract) between the plaintiff and NAVRESSO, the plaintiff delivered gasoline supplies to service stations operated by Navy Exchanges in Atlanta, Athens, and Kings Bay, Georgia, from December 21, 1981, to October 21, 1982. The plaintiff made these deliveries in accordance with purchase orders issued by the several Navy Exchanges. Each purchase order contained a provision reading as follows:

Except as may be otherwise provided, the prices stated herein exclude any state or local sales, use, or other tax directly applicable to the completed supplies or work covered hereby. Upon request of the Contractor, the Navy Exchange shall furnish for submission to the state or local taxing authorities, a certificate or similar evidence to assist the Contractor in attempting to obtain exemption from any excluded tax.

Although the plaintiff asked NAVRES-SO several times to provide it with the tax exemption certificate referred to in the provision just quoted, NAVRESSO did not do so.

On March 24, 1984, the Georgia Department of Revenue assessed $21,256.75 against the plaintiff as sales tax, penalty, and interest charges on the sale of gasoline to Navy Exchanges in Georgia during the period from December 1, 1981, to October 31, 1982.

Pursuant to a different contract, No. 060-100-82-C0095 (the Florida contract), between the plaintiff and NAVRESSO, the plaintiff delivered gasoline supplies to Navy Exchange service stations in Florida. The plaintiff made these deliveries in accordance with purchase orders issued by the Navy Exchanges located in Florida. Each purchase order contained the same tax exemption provision previously quoted in connection with sales to Navy Exchanges located in Georgia. In this instance, however, NAVRESSO did supply the plaintiff with a tax exemption certificate.

In March 1983, the State of Florida amended its taxation scheme on motor fuel {see 1983 Fla.Laws, Chapter 83-3, § 5; Fla. Stat.Ann. § 212.08(4) (West Supp.1986)) to authorize the imposition of a retail sales tax which, according to the Florida Department of Revenue, was applicable to gasoline sold and delivered to Navy Exchanges in Florida. Subsequently, the Florida Department of Revenue assessed $18,055.66 in sales taxes against the plaintiff on gasoline which the plaintiff delivered to Navy Exchanges in Florida during the period from April 1, 1983, to May 10, 1983. The plaintiff tried to collect the amount of the assessment from NAVRESSO, but NAVRESSO declined to pay.

The Florida Department of Revenue has deferred the collection of these taxes against the plaintiff pending the outcome of the present litigation. The deferral, however, is subject to any applicable penalties and to the accrual of interest at the rate of $5.94 per day, beginning October 21, 1984.

Administrative Proceedings

On February 5, 1986, the plaintiff submitted a claim to the contracting officer with responsibility for the Georgia contract, requesting payment of the amount ($21,256.75) of the Georgia assessment against the plaintiff. On April 22, 1986, the contracting officer issued a final decision denying the plaintiffs claim.

Also on February 5, 1986, the plaintiff submitted to the contracting officer with responsibility for the Florida contract a claim in the amount ($18,055.66) of the Florida assessment against the plaintiff, plus the amount of any penalty and interest payable by the plaintiff as a result of such assessment. This claim was denied by the contracting officer in a decision dated June 27, 1986.

[141]*141Following the rejection of its administrative claims, the plaintiff filed its complaint in this court on October 14, 1986.

Discussion

The defendant’s contentions in its pending motion to dismiss can be summarized as follows:

Any contract, either express or implied, involved in this case is not between the plaintiff and the United States, but, rather, is between the plaintiff and NAVRESSO; NAVRESSO is a non-appropriated fund instrumentality (NAFI); in the Claims Court's principal grant of jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1491(a)(1) (1982)), Congress only gave this court jurisdiction over express or implied contracts with certain NAFI’s, namely, “the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Navy Exchanges, Marine Corps Exchanges, Coast Guard Exchanges, * * * [and] Exchange Councils of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration”; and, therefore, the Claims Court does not have jurisdiction to consider any claim that is based upon an express or implied contract between the plaintiff and NAVRESSO.

The court has concluded that the jurisdictional issue raised in the defendant’s pending motion is not the primary jurisdictional question involved in the present case. In this connection, it is clear that the court itself can inquire into its own jurisdiction. Gilmore v. United States, 6 Cl.Ct. 323, 326 (1984), aff'd, 765 F.2d 163 (Fed.Cir.1985); Bayshore Resources Co. v. United States, 2 Cl.Ct. 625, 639 (1983); RUSCC 12(h)(3). In the present case, therefore, the court is not restricted to a consideration of the jurisdictional problem mentioned in the defendant’s pending motion.

Even if it is assumed for the purpose of discussion that, because NAVRESSO was an integral part of the Navy Exchange procurement system, and because the case concerns sales taxes assessed against the plaintiff on gasoline supplies which the plaintiff furnished to Navy Exchanges in response to purchase orders issued by the exchanges, the plaintiff’s contractual arrangements, in reality, were with the Navy Exchanges, a serious question remains as to whether the complaint shows the existence of a claim by the plaintiff that is cognizable by this court.

The portion of this court’s grant of jurisdiction from Congress upon which the plaintiff must rely provides as follows:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Vargas v. United States
114 Fed. Cl. 226 (Federal Claims, 2014)
El-Sheikh v. United States
39 Fed. Cl. 1 (Federal Claims, 1997)
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority v. United States
36 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,912 (Court of Claims, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
33 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,182, 12 Cl. Ct. 139, 1987 U.S. Claims LEXIS 36, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-johns-oil-co-v-united-states-cc-1987.