Starflight Boats v. United States

48 Fed. Cl. 592, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 15, 2001 WL 117501
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedFebruary 8, 2001
DocketNo. 99-727 C
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 48 Fed. Cl. 592 (Starflight Boats 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
Starflight Boats v. United States, 48 Fed. Cl. 592, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 15, 2001 WL 117501 (uscfc 2001).

Opinion

ORDER

MOODY R. TIDWELL, III, Senior Judge.

This government contract case is before the court, on defendant’s motion in limine and to dismiss, or in the alternative, for summary judgment. Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging damages resulting from delays incurred by plaintiff arising under the subject contract and caused by the government. Plaintiff alleged that contract performance was delayed because he was cooperating with the government’s criminal investigation of the Contracting Officer’s Representative. For the reasons set forth below, defendant’s motions in limine and for summary judgment are hereby ALLOWED. The defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, pursuant to RCFC 12(b)(4), is hereby deemed MOOT.

BACKGROUND

On September 21, 1992, Contract No. F08637-92-C-080 (hereinafter the “contract”) was awarded to Starflight Boats (hereinafter “Starflight” or “Plaintiff’) by the Department of the Air Force, Air Education and Training Command, 325th Contracting Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida (hereinafter “Air Force” or “government”). The contract price for the manufacture and purchase of 47 airfield runway edge marker systems was a total firm fixed price of $864, 348.00. During the contract performance, the parties executed eight bilateral modifications, which raised the contract price to $949,794.00, and extended the schedule to cover the extension period of the contract.

The people overseeing the contract on behalf of the government included: Sue Harris, the contract specialist and administrator; Larry Edwards, the procurement contracting officer (hereinafter “CO”); and Ronnie Ken-ney, the contracting officer’s technical representatives (hereinafter “COR”). Donald Brown, owner and President of Starflight, supervised the contract on behalf of plaintiff.

Shortly after plaintiff began performing the contract, Kenney, the COR, attempted to induce Mr. Brown to conspire with him to defraud the government. Under Kenney’s plan, Mr. Brown would substitute inferior products for those that were specified in the contract, without reducing the price that Mr. Brown charged the government. Kenney and Mr. Brown would then divide the money that the government overpaid. Although Ronnie Kenney persisted in soliciting Mr. Brown’s participation, Mr. Brown did not acquiesce. Mr. Brown did, however, inform Sue Harris, and she referred Mr. Brown to Doug Brian, Deputy of Contracting for the Air Force.

At a meeting in early 1993, Mr. Brown informed Brian of Kenney’s conduct. Mr. Brown alleges that he and Brian reached a secret, oral agreement whereby Mr. Brown would help the government investigate Ken-ney. Mr. Brown further alleges that Brian instructed him to comply with the unlawful demands of Mr. Kenney, and Doug Brian, in return, promised he would honor Mr. Brown’s claims for the costs associated therewith upon the conclusion of the investigation and conviction of Kenney.

[595]*595The Air Force Office of Special Investigation began investigating Kenney on May 17, 1993 and closed the investigation on November 18,1996. As a result of this investigation and subsequent criminal trial, Kenney was convicted on August 29, 1997 for soliciting a gratuity as a public official.

On October 30, 1995, Mr. Brown filed a claim for damages with the Department of the Air Force for $224,390.00. Mr. Brown’s claim alleged that the contract’s performance was delayed because he was cooperating with the criminal investigation of Kenney. The Department of the Air Force rejected Mr. Brown’s claim on August 28, 1998 via letter that Mr. Brown received in early September 1998. Plaintiff filed the instant action on August 24,1999.

Plaintiff brings this action asserting that it is entitled to the additional $224,390.00 for damages resulting from delays encountered by the contractor due to interference by the COR who was investigated, indicted, and convicted from soliciting bribes from Starf-light.

DISCUSSION

The instant matter before the court arises out of defendant’s motion in limine and to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. In ruling on a motion to dismiss under the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”) 12(b)(4), the court must accept as true the complaint’s allegations and construe the facts in the light most favorable to the moving party. See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). RCFC 12(b)(4) authorizes dismissal of a complaint if, assuming the truth of all allegations, it fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted as a matter of law. Dismissal of a complaint is also appropriate whenever “it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.” See Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957).

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See RCFC 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The moving party bears the initial burden of establishing the absence of any disputes of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). When the moving party has met its burden of showing entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, the burden then shifts to the non-moving party to provide facts establishing that a genuine issue for trial exists. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The non-moving party cannot discharge its burden by cryptic, conclusory, or generalized responses but, instead, must produce some evidence showing a dispute of material fact. See Tunnell v. Wiley, 514 F.2d 971, 976 (3d Cir.1975); see also Willetts v. Ford Motor Co., 583 F.2d 852, 856 (6th Cir.1978). A material fact is one that would change the outcome of the litigation. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Facts which are not outcome determinative are not material, and disputes over such facts will not preclude the court from granting summary judgment. See id.

Contract interpretation is a matter of law resolvable by summary judgment. See Joe LeMoine Constr. v. United States, 36 Fed.Cl. 4, 8 (1996) (citing Muniz v. United States, 972 F.2d 1304, 1309 (Fed.Cir.1992)). When construing a contract, the court’s primary goal is to determine the intent of the contracting parties. See Beta Sys., Inc. v. United States, 838 F.2d 1179, 1185 (Fed.Cir.1988).

I. Motion in Limine

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48 Fed. Cl. 592, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 15, 2001 WL 117501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/starflight-boats-v-united-states-uscfc-2001.