Trilon Educational Corp. v. United States

578 F.2d 1356, 25 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,461, 217 Ct. Cl. 266, 1978 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 157
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedJune 14, 1978
DocketNo. 241-76
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 578 F.2d 1356 (Trilon Educational 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
Trilon Educational Corp. v. United States, 578 F.2d 1356, 25 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,461, 217 Ct. Cl. 266, 1978 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 157 (cc 1978).

Opinion

Nichols, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court: This case, before the court on cross-motions for summary judgment, concerns a naval procurement contract. Defendant cancelled it, six weeks after award, for nonresponsibility of the contractor. Plaintiff seeks recovery of costs incurred in preparing to perform and anticipatory profits, totaling $58,000. Defendant disclaims all liability on the ground that plaintiffs nonresponsibility rendered the contract void.

The invitation for bids (IFB) in this case was for the manufacture of small arms gunfire flash-noise simulators, [269]*269and was issued by the Naval Training Equipment Center in Orlando, Florida, on May 29, 1974. Although the IFB was sent to 22 companies, only two responded. Of these, plaintiff, Trilon Educational Corp., was the lowest bidder for the quantities desired by the Navy. The contracting officer determined that Trilon was responsible, and awarded the contract on June 26, 1974. The contract was signed the same day. Immediately thereafter, plaintiff placed purchase orders for materials and undertook alteration of its production capacity to assure shipments in accordance with the contract delivery schedule.

In the meantime, the unsuccessful bidder, Joanell Laboratories, formally protested Trilon’s award on June 28, 1974, and followed with a letter to the Comptroller General of the United States, dated July 12, 1974. Joanell alleged that Trilon should have been adjudged nonresponsi-ble because of the recent criminal conviction of Mr. Neile Coe, President of Trilon Research Corporation, of which Trilon Educational Corporation was a subsidiary, for conspiring to defraud the government in connection with subcontract awards. Coe pleaded guilty to the charges which arose out of the Grumman Aircraft Kickback scandal, on April 2, 1974, and was sentenced on June 27, 1974. Joanell further noted that this information could easily have been uncovered by the contracting officer simply by telephoning the local Defense Contract Administration Office.

The contracting officer notified plaintiff by telegram, on August 8, 1974, that the contract was cancelled, effective immediately. Plaintiff, operating on the assumption that the cancellation was to be treated as a termination for convenience, submitted a termination settlement proposal to the government. This was rejected out of hand, the government adopting the position that the circumstances of plaintiffs nonresponsibility made the contract illegal, thereby preventing the existence of any rights thereunder.

In its cross-motion for summary judgment defendant offers several interrelated theories in support of its position that the cancellation was valid and released the government from all liability to plaintiff. The major argument is that the contract award was improper and clearly illegal, and therefore was not enforceable under United States v. [270]*270Mississippi Valley Generating Co., 364 U.S. 520 (1961). That case involved a conflict of interest and has never been held to apply to every instance of award irregularity. Schoenbrod v. United States, 187 Ct. Cl. 627, 410 F.2d 400 (1969); Prestex Inc. v. United States, 162 Ct. Cl. 620, 320 F.2d 367 (1963), are closer to our facts but not on point. Defendant’s argument subsumes two others. One is that the contracting officer simply did not have the authority, under the Armed Services Procurement Regulations (ASPR), and in particular ASPR 1-902 et seq., to award the contract to Trilon. The second is that plaintiff should have disclosed its ineligibility to the contracting officer before accepting the contract.

The criteria to be applied in determining the responsibility of prospective contractors are delineated in part 9 of section 1 of ASPR. The pertinent ASPR provisions are set forth in full in the appendix following this opinion. The object of part 9 is to ensure that potential contractors are qualified to perform the work or services sought. To this end, awards may be made only to "responsible prospective contractors” after the contracting officer has made an affirmative determination in this regard, based on the standards enumerated in the ASPR. Under ASPR 1-903.1, to be qualified for an award a contractor must at minimum be able to command adequate financial resources and have available enough plant capacity and equipment to perform the contract and comply with delivery schedules. In addition, the prospective contractor must have satisfactory records of performance and integrity. ASPR 1-904.1 further provides that "[t]he signing of the contract by the contracting officer constitutes [an affirmative determination of responsibility] * * *; therefore he must assure himself that the applicable requirements of 1-903 are met before signing the contract or order.” Finally, "[b]efore making a determination of responsibility (see 1-904), the contracting officer shall have in his possession or obtain information sufficient to satisfy himself that a prospective contractor currently meets the minimum standards set forth in 1-903, to the extent that such standards are applicable to a specific procurement.” ASPR l-905.1(a).

Despite what may appear to be a lengthy list of standards to be applied in evaluating the responsibility of a potential contractor, this court and the Comptroller Gener[271]*271al of the United States have both consistently stated that the regulations invest in the contracting officer a considerable degree of discretion in arriving at a determination. See, e.g., Keco Industries, Inc. v. United States, 203 Ct. Cl. 566, 577, 492 F.2d 1200, 1205-06 (1974); Data Test Corp., 54 Comp. Gen. 499 (1974). In Data Test Corp., it was noted that responsibility "determinations are based in large measure on subjective judgments which are not readily susceptible to reasoned review.” Id. at 501. Absent allegations of fraud or bad faith, then, affirmative determinations of responsibility generally will not be overturned, and ordinarily protests in this regard will not even be entertained. See Central Metal Products, Inc., 54 Comp. Gen. 66 (1974). Although this reasoning usually appears in the context of challenges by unsuccessful bidders, this court has implied that it also is applicable to the recipient of a government contract who later realizes that the favorable responsibility determination as to him was erroneous. Transcountry Packing Co. v. United States, 215 Ct. Cl. 390, 396, 568 F.2d 1333, 1338 (1978). Similarly, then, the government should also be bound by its own assessment even if it should later conclude that the initial judgment was incorrect.

We now turn to the major thrust of defendant’s argument, that the contract was void and illegal because improperly awarded to a nonresponsible prospective contractor. In essence, defendant would have us hold either that plaintiff is estopped from demanding damages because of its failure to bring Coe’s conviction to the attention of the contracting officer, or that the contract is cancellable without recourse by Trilon.

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578 F.2d 1356, 25 Cont. Cas. Fed. 82,461, 217 Ct. Cl. 266, 1978 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trilon-educational-corp-v-united-states-cc-1978.