The Martin Lane Company, Inc. v. The United States

432 F.2d 1013, 193 Ct. Cl. 203, 1970 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 59
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedOctober 16, 1970
Docket40-69
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 432 F.2d 1013 (The Martin Lane Company, Inc. v. The 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
The Martin Lane Company, Inc. v. The United States, 432 F.2d 1013, 193 Ct. Cl. 203, 1970 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 59 (cc 1970).

Opinion

ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION AND DEFENDANT’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PER CURIAM:

This case was referred to Trial Commissioner Harry E. Wood with directions to prepare and file his opinion on the issues of plaintiff’s motion and defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment under the order of reference and Rule 166(c). The commissioner has done so in an opinion and report filed on June 4, 1970, wherein such facts as are necessary to the opinion are set forth. The plaintiff filed a motion for an extension of time to August 10, 1970 to file a request for review by the court of the commissioner’s opinion, which motion was allowed on July 17, 1970. However, no request for review has been filed by either party and the times for so filing under the Rules of the court and the extension granted have expired. Since the court agrees with the opinion and recommended conclusion of the trial commissioner, it hereby adopts the same as the basis for its judgment in this case as hereinafter set forth without oral argument. Therefore, plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is denied, defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment is granted, and plaintiff’s petition is dismissed. Defendant’s counterclaim is also dismissed.

OPINION OF COMMISSIONER

WOOD, Commissioner:

This case is before the court on cross-motions for summary judgment for review, under Wunderlich Act 1 standards, of a decision of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals denying plaintiff’s claim for an equitable adjustment for an alleged constructive change. 2 It arises out of a 1966 contract (DSA 100-3183) between plaintiff and defendant (acting through the Defense Personnel Support Center, Defense Supply Agency), for the manufacture and delivery of 14,060 units of “Armor Groin Class I, Various Sizes.”

Throughout (and for some time after) the “bidding” which led to the negotiated contract in suit, plaintiff interpreted defendant’s “bid package” 3 to mean that each of the “Waist” sizes of Class 1 groin armor called for (designated 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, and 42) would be manufactured from a “pattern size” bearing a like number. After contract award, however, plaintiff discovered that under defendant’s interpretation of the contract documents, Class 1 groin armor *1015 “Waist” sizes designated 28 through 42 were to be fabricated from pattern sizes 36 through 50, respectively.

At about the same time, defendant learned of plaintiff’s differing interpretation. In consequence, plaintiff was duly directed to manufacture the groin armor in accordance with defendant’s view of the contract requirements. In rejecting plaintiff’s claim for an equitable adjustment for the alleged “change”, the Board concluded that plaintiff’s interpretation of the contract “is unreasonable and cannot be upheld.”

The administrative decision involved the interpretation of the contract, and was therefore “on a question of law”, within the meaning of Section 2 of the Wunderlich Act, 68 Stat. 81, 41 U.S.C. § 322 (1964). Thus, it is neither entitled to finality thereunder nor binding on this court. Mountain Home Contractors v. United States, 425 F.2d 1260, 192 Ct.Cl. 16 (1970); Gorn Corp. v. United States, 424 F.2d 588, 191 Ct.Cl. 560 (1970).

Plaintiff, seeking to invoke the “oft-repeated and much-applied rule” 4 that where “some substantive provision of a government-drawn agreement is fairly susceptible of a certain construction and the contractor actually and reasonably so construes it, in the course of bidding or performance, that is the interpretation which will be adopted * * * ”, 5 contends that the Board’s conclusion is erroneous as a matter of law. Nor, plaintiff says, was it under any duty to seek clarification. 6

Defendant argues that plaintiff’s interpretation is unreasonable, and that, in any event, there was such “a major inconsistency * * * between plaintiff’s interpretation and the specifications” as to impose “a duty to make inquiry of the contracting officer or another appropriate Government official.” Defendant also asserts a counterclaim for $4,116.57, alleged to be due it under the facts and circumstances of this case.

For reasons hereinafter appearing, it is concluded (1) that plaintiff is not entitled to recover on its claim for an equitable adjustment, and (2) that defendant is not entitled to recover on its counterclaim.

The facts relevant to plaintiff’s claim are essentially undisputed. On February 15, 1966, the Defense Supply Agency issued a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the manufacture of 14,060 units of “Armor Groin Class I, Various Sizes”, to be produced in accordance with Military Specification MIL-A-43366, dated September 16, 1965 (hereinafter “Specification MIL-A-43366”), from government-furnished patterns bearing the same date. On receipt of the RFP, Specification MIL-A-43366, and the aforementioned pattern roll, plaintiff noted that, although the RFP contained the Federal Stock Number (FSN) for each of the several sizes of groin armor involved, and the quantity desired for each item (as represented by the FSN), it omitted any indication of sizes.

Plaintiff orally notified DSA of the omission, and, by Amendment No. 1 to the RFP, issued February 18, 1966, each Class 1 size designation was correlated with an FSN (and quantity) contained in the RFP. 7 The relevant portion of Amendment No. 1 is as follows:

Page 5 of Request for Proposal under Delivery Schedule add the following *1016 size designation with its corresponding Federal Stock Number.
8470-753-6110 8470-753-6114
Size 28 Size 36
8470-753-6111 8470-753-6115
Size 30 Size 38
8470-753-6112 8470-753-6116
Size 32 Size 40
8470-753-6113 8470-753-6117
Size 34 Size 42

Although defendant was to furnish the material for the groin armor at a stated cost per yard, each bidder was solely responsible for determining the amount it would require for contract performance. The RFP provided that the estimated unit value of government-furnished material would be deducted from the contract price and applied to the value of material furnished by the government. Because a bidder’s material usage estimate was thus a competitive factor in contract award, size designations were essential to bid preparation.

The relevant portions of Specification MIL-A-43366 are: 1.2 Classification.

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Bluebook (online)
432 F.2d 1013, 193 Ct. Cl. 203, 1970 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 59, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-martin-lane-company-inc-v-the-united-states-cc-1970.