Takota Corp. v. United States

90 Fed. Cl. 11, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 338, 2009 WL 3574132
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedOctober 28, 2009
DocketNo. 06-553C
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 90 Fed. Cl. 11 (Takota Corp. 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
Takota Corp. v. United States, 90 Fed. Cl. 11, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 338, 2009 WL 3574132 (uscfc 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

BRUGGINK, Judge.

Pending in this contract action are the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (“RCFC”).1 The plaintiff, Takota Corporation (“Takota”), seeks to convert its default termination to a termination for convenience. The government seeks to have Takota’s claim dismissed. The matter is fully briefed. Oral argument was held on September 10, 2009. For the reasons set out below, the government’s motion is granted and the case is dismissed.

BACKGROUND2

On July 22, 2005, the United States Department of the Navy (“the Navy”) awarded Contract No. N62470-05-7165 to Takota. The contract called for the extension of two boat ramps and dredging at the Hancock Marina, Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina. The contract was for a fixed price of $463,0003 and provided a performance period of 150 days. Thus, the completion date was January 3,2006.

Although the contract contemplated work on two boat ramps, the facts of this dispute center primarily around the boat ramp located in the Hancock Marina, a relatively small, lagoon-like basin opening into Hancock Creek and largely encircled by land. The sides of the lagoon consist of a preexisting seawall constructed of concrete and sheet metal. It is undisputed that prior to the time of performance the seawall encircling the lagoon was in disrepair. Indeed, the contract drawings note:

Dewatering the lagoon will cause a significant unbalanced load condition of the already deteriorating steel sheet pile bulkhead (seawalls). Contractor shall monitor all existing bulkhead (seawalls) during the dewatering and construction process. Should signs of movement or additional deterioration be observed, the contractor shall provide safe and adequate shoring and contact contracting officer for further direction.

Contract drawing C-03, note 3 (Def.’s App. Tab 1).

Bulkheads (seawalls) shall be carefully monitored during dewatering process. Contractor shall provide adequate shoring/bracing for bulkheads (seawalls). Should signs of weakening or movement of bulkheads be observed, contractor shall provide additional shoring, shall stop dewa-tering process, and shall contact contracting officer for further direction.

Contract drawing C-04, note 3 (Def.’s App. Tab 1).

Additionally, the contract calls for various submittals, although the parties dispute which submittals were actually required. Of particular note, Section 02300 of the contract, entitled “Earthwork,” states that the contractor must submit procedures for aceom-[14]*14plishing dewatering work.4 That section further states, “The Contractor shall submit a Shoring and Sheeting plan for approval 15 days prior to starting work.” Section 02300 also requires the contractor “to hire a Professional Geotechnical Engineer to provide inspection” both before and during construction. At a pre-consti’uetion conference on August 18, 2005, Navy representatives reminded Takota of the various required submittals and instructed Takota to forward any technical submittals to the Navy’s architectural and engineering firm, Dewberry & Davis.

On October 3, 2005, Takota began work at the job site. In order to remove and replace the boat ramp in the Hancock Marina, Tako-ta was required to seal off the entrance to the lagoon using “sheet piles or other temporary measures” and pump out the water. Contract Section 01110N, 1.1.1(b). Takota planned to do so using a Portadam — a brand of temporary cofferdam generally designed for such applications.5 At the time Takota began work, it had not submitted a shoring plan or a dewatering plan, nor had it hired a geotechnical engineer, although Takota disputes whether these steps were mandatory.

Takota installed the Portadam on October 19-20, 2005, and began dewatering the lagoon the next day, making sufficient progress to begin work demolishing and removing the boat ramp. During this process, water was flowing into the partially dewatered lagoon area. The parties disagree, however, about whether the leakage was coming through the deteriorated seawall or through a gap where the Portadam did not properly abut the seawall. The parties also dispute whether the volume of leakage was greater than the capacity of the pumps and, thus, whether the leakage precluded complete de-watering of the marina.

On October 28, 2005, Takota notified the Navy in waiting that it was stopping work due to a differing site condition and requested direction. Specifically, Takota stated that when dewatering, it experienced “water flow behind the bulkheads/sheet piles from the top of our temporary cofferdams into the work area” causing erosion behind the seawall and jeopardizing its stability. When Navy representatives, including the Assistant Resident Officer in Charge of Construction (“AROICC”), visited the site and observed the marina filled with water, they requested Takota to dewater so the Navy representatives could obseive the alleged differing site condition. Takota refused, stating that the seawall would fail if it attempted to dewater again.

The AROICC followed up on the site observation with an email on November 2, 2005, advising Takota that it was required to submit a sheeting and shoring plan and to employ a geotechnical engineer. In Takota’s reply, it contested the need for a sheeting and shoring plan submittal, but the company agreed to hire a geotechnical engineer. The next day, Takota contacted two engineering firms, ultimately selecting QORE Property Sciences (“QORE”) to visit the site and prepare a geotechnical report of its findings and recommendations.

Aso on November 2, 2005, engineers from the Navy and Dewberry & Davis visited the Hancock Marina to investigate the claim of a differing site condition. They concluded that the dewatering problem was not due to a differing site condition, but rather to the selection of an unsuitable cofferdam system that was not properly sealed at the points where it was to abut the seawall. Accordingly, on November 13, 2005, the AROICC emailed Takota instructing it to use sheet piling rather than cofferdams.6 This email [15]*15also reminded Takota of the requirement to shore the seawall — a contractual interpretation disputed by Takota — and confirmed that the original completion date was still in effect.

QORE, Takota’s geotechnical engineering firm, presented Takota with a preliminary field observation report on November 13, 2005, finding the seawall in a significant state of disrepair and suggesting relocating the placement of the Portadam to reduce the area being dewatered.7 The report also suggested that for the second boat ramp, located in Hancock Creek, Takota trench behind the seawall and place concrete to form permanent groundwater cutoff walls. Shortly thereafter, Navy personnel forwarded QORE’s report to Dewberry & Davis for comment on the proposed solutions.

On November 22, 2005, Takota informed the Navy that it was going to treat the situation as a constructive change and would proceed by ordering an additional cofferdam to enclose the area immediately around the boat ramp in the lagoon. About a week later, the AROICC replied, stating that any change or additional work must be presented to the Navy through an equitable adjustment and be approved.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 Fed. Cl. 11, 2009 U.S. Claims LEXIS 338, 2009 WL 3574132, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/takota-corp-v-united-states-uscfc-2009.