Stoner-Caroga Corp. v. United States

31 Cont. Cas. Fed. 71,370, 3 Cl. Ct. 92, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1665
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJuly 28, 1983
DocketNo. 623-82C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 31 Cont. Cas. Fed. 71,370 (Stoner-Caroga Corp. 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
Stoner-Caroga Corp. v. United States, 31 Cont. Cas. Fed. 71,370, 3 Cl. Ct. 92, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1665 (cc 1983).

Opinion

OPINION ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PHILIP R. MILLER, Judge:

This is a suit for damages for breach of contract, in the sum of $10,800. Each party has filed a motion for summary judgment in its favor, supported by affidavits. It is [93]*93concluded herein that the facts admitted by both parties show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact bearing on liability and that plaintiff is entitled to judgment on the issue of liability as a matter of law. However, the precise amount of plaintiff’s damages remains to be proven.

I

The pertinent facts are set forth chronologically to the extent feasible.

On July 7, 1980, the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Surplus Supply Center, National Capital Region (Center), issued an Invitation For Bids, for the sale of two surplus mobile homes. On July 22, 1980, the Center accepted the high bid of $456 made by Stoner-Caroga. The contract included a provision requiring Stoner-Caro-ga to make payment and remove the mobile homes from the Shipley Elementary School, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, by August 5, 1980.

On August 25,1980, a National Park Service representative at Harpers Ferry notified William Tesh, the contracting officer, that the mobile homes would have to be moved shortly, because local authorities were concerned that the homes would present a safety hazard once school opened in September. Mr. Tesh claims that on the same day, at his instruction, his employee attempted to contact the plaintiff on the telephone to convey this request but reported to him that the number listed by the plaintiff in its bid had been disconnected. Although plaintiff’s president disputes this report, stating in an affidavit that plaintiff’s telephone has been connected during the entire year 1980, for purposes of the present motions it is unnecessary to resolve such dispute.

Without further ado, again on the same day, Tesh had the National Park Service contact the only other bidder on the homes, Jefferson County Fair Association, Inc. (Jefferson), which agreed to purchase the homes for $100. Jefferson paid for the homes on August 27 and then removed them from the schoolyard on August 29. The Center did not send Stoner-Caroga a termination notice or a notice to cure a default prior to re-awarding the contract to Jefferson.

Meanwhile, on August 27, 1980, plaintiff also tendered payment of $456 to GSA for the mobile homes. The check was deposited by GSA and honored by plaintiff’s bank on or before September 9, 1980.

Plaintiff asserts that on some unspecified date in the early fall of 1980 it entered into a contract to sell the mobile homes to Eastern Crane & Conveyor Co. for $10,800, and received a $1,000 deposit from Eastern. Although plaintiff does not claim that its delay in making payment until August 25, 1980, was caused by a failure of GSA to send it the proper forms to fill out for transfer of title to the homes, plaintiff’s president states that in 1981 a GSA employee informed him there had been a mistake in that someone had forgotten to forward to plaintiff a copy of Form 97, which would have authorized receipt and transport of the mobile homes. Plaintiff does not make clear, however, that it was entitled to the form prior to payment. In any event, in a letter dated November 18, 1980, plaintiff wrote to Tesh asking him to forward the release forms necessary for Stoner-Caroga to take title to the mobile homes.

On January 8, 1981, plaintiff sent Tesh a mailgram again requesting the appropriate documents. Tesh states in his affidavit that it was at this point in time that he first noticed the letter of November 18 and the copy of the cancelled check from Stoner-Caroga.

On January 8, plaintiff notified the contracting officer of its dispute in accordance with clause 19 of the General Sale Terms and Conditions (March 1974 Edition) (SF 114c) which had been made a part of the sales contract in the IFB. On January 28, plaintiff requested a decision from the Comptroller General with respect to the dispute. On August 10,1981, the Comptroller General issued a decision holding that the dispute “is appropriate for resolution under that act [Contract Disputes Act of 1978] rather than by our office.” Plaintiff [94]*94then submitted a claim for damage to the contracting officer. When the contracting officer did not respond within 60 days, plaintiff filed this action pursuant to 41 U.S.C. § 605(c).

Plaintiff claims that the Default clause found in SF 114c requires the government to send a purchaser written notice of a default prior to termination which would give plaintiff the opportunity over a period of 15 days to cure the default and avoid termination. It asserts that by negotiating plaintiff’s check, submitted as payment for the homes one month after the specified performance date, and by never notifying Stoner-Caroga of the resale of the mobile homes, the government waived the performance date. Plaintiff then claims that the failure of the defendant to provide the mobile homes specified in the contract was a breach of contract. Plaintiff asks the court to award it the profits it would have received as a result of its resale of the mobile homes, as well as reasonable attorneys fees.

Defendant contends that under the Default clause, the government was not required to send plaintiff a notice of default termination. Defendant also argues that there can be no waiver of the specified performance date because plaintiff was the first party to breach the contract. The government also asks for judgment entitling it to retain $356 as damages resulting from plaintiff’s breach (the $456 it received from plaintiff less the $100 it received from Jefferson).

II

Title 41 C.F.R. § 101-45.304-8(c)(4) (1981), states that the General Sale Terms and Conditions (SF 114e) is applicable to all government sales of property and “shall be made a part of all such sales invitations, either by reference or by attachment thereto or both.” Accordingly, the IFB informed bidders that the solicitation was subject to SF 114c.1

SF 114c contains the following clause:

9. DEFAULT.
If, after the award, the Purchaser breaches the contract by failure to make payment within the time allowed by the contract * * * then the Government may send the Purchaser a 15-day written notice of default * * * and upon Purchaser’s failure to cure such default within that period (or such further period as the Contracting Officer may allow), the Purchaser shall lose all right, title and interest which he might otherwise have acquired in and to such property as to which a default has occurred. The Purchaser agrees that in the event he fails to pay for the property or remove the same within the prescribed period(s) of time, the Government at its election and upon notice of default shall be entitled to retain (or collect) as liquidated damages a sum equal to the greater of (a) 20% of the purchase price of the item(s) as to which the default has occurred, or (b) $25 * * * Provided further, That the maximum sum which may be recovered by the Government as damages for failure of the Purchaser to pay for and remove the property shall be the formula amount.

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Related

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32 Cont. Cas. Fed. 72,391 (Court of Claims, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
31 Cont. Cas. Fed. 71,370, 3 Cl. Ct. 92, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stoner-caroga-corp-v-united-states-cc-1983.