United States Ex Rel. Belt Con Construction, Inc. v. Metric Construction Co.

314 F. App'x 151
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided February 25, 2009·No. 07-2091·Unpublished

Opinions

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

MARY BECK BRISCOE, Circuit Judge.

Belt Con Construction, Inc. (“Belt Con”) brought a Miller Act action pursuant to 40 U.S.C. §§ 270a-270d against Metric Construction Co. Inc., (“Metric”) arising out of contracts to construct a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Campus (“Training Center”) in New Mexico. Metric responded by filing counterclaims. After a bench trial and an order addressing Metric’s motion to amend judgment, the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico awarded Belt Con damages and concluded Belt Con was the prevailing party. Metric now appeals the district court’s denial of two claims made in its motion to amend judgment: (1) to reduce Belt Con’s damage award by the value of the roof warranties Belt Con did not provide; and (2) to apportion to Belt Con damages from delays during construction. Metric contends that the district court correctly determined that Belt Con failed to satisfy its contractual obligation [153] to provide roof warranties, but wrongly-decided that there was insufficient evidence to determine the value of the warranties. As regards damages caused by delay, Metric contends that the district court wrongly determined that any delays attributable to Belt Con were concurrent with delays caused by others and that given the evidence presented, concurrent delays could not be apportioned. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and affirm.

I

Metric contracted with the General Services Administration (“GSA”) to build dormitories, and physical training and security buildings. Metric also contracted with the GSA to build two firing ranges. Metric subcontracted with Belt Con for masonry work on the dormitories and physical training building. The construction project was not completed on time.

As a result of the construction delays, GSA withheld liquidated damages from its contract payment to Metric. Metric disputed this decision and filed claims against the United States, contending that GSA caused the delays. Metric and GSA resolved these claims in a settlement agreement. The terms of the settlement agreement include the following language:

The GSA maintains that it properly withheld and is entitled to liquidated damages on the Dormitory project and the Range project. Metric concedes some liability for the late completion of the projects, but maintains that it is entitled to compensation for some delay and changed or extra work performed by Metric on the projects.

Aplt. App’x Vol. II at 280.

After the settlement between GSA and Metric, Belt Con filed the present action. Belt Con alleged that Metric failed to pay Belt Con all of the money it owed to Belt Con under its subcontract and that Belt Con was entitled to additional compensation for delays and extra work. Among other defenses, Metric responded that Belt Con failed to complete the contracted work on schedule. Additionally, Metric brought a counterclaim against Belt Con for cleanup costs Metric incurred after Belt Con completed its work. Metric also argued that any award to Belt Con should be reduced by the value of the roof warranties Belt Con failed to provide, and by the value of the liquidated damages GSA assessed against Metric that were in fact caused by Belt Con’s delay.

The district court held a four-day bench trial. The district court found that California law governed the contract between Metric and Belt Con. Applying California law to its factual findings, the district court determined that Belt Con was entitled to the unpaid balance on the contract, plus interest. The district court, however, did not grant Belt Con’s requests for delay damages. Regarding Metric’s counterclaims, the district court awarded Metric its requested clean-up costs. Despite finding that the contract required Belt Con to provide roof warranties and that Belt Con failed to provide them, the district court concluded that “Metric has not proved by a preponderance of the evidence damages for Belt Con’s failure to provide the roof warranties.” Aplt. App’x Vol. I at 155. Similarly, the district court denied Metric’s request for liquidated damages resulting from Belt Con’s delays. As regards attorney fees and costs, the court found that Belt Con was the prevailing party.

In response to the district court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law entered after the bench trial, Metric filed a motion to amend judgment. Metric asked the district court to apportion some of the delay to Belt Con, and offset the contract [154] balance awarded to Belt Con by the value of the roof warranties and the “pipe identification work” that Belt Con did not provide. Aplt. App’x Vol. I at 219. The court reduced the award by the value of the pipe identification work, corrected scriveners errors in its prior findings, and denied the balance of Metric’s motion. Metric now appeals, arguing that the district court erred by not reducing Belt Con’s award by the value of the roof warranties and by not apportioning any delay to Belt Con.

II

A. Roof Warranties

Metric contends the district court erred as a matter of law in its rulings regarding the roof warranties. It appears that Metric agrees with the district court’s findings of fact on this issue. Because Metric’s challenge involves only the application of legal principles to undisputed facts, our review is de novo. See Hollern v. Wachovia Sec., Inc., 458 F.3d 1169, 1175 n. 4 (10th Cir.2006) (applying this standard in the context of attorney fees).

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United States Ex Rel. Belt Con Construction, Inc. v. Metric Construction Co., 314 F. App'x 151 (10th Cir. 2009).

314 F. App'x 151 (United States Ex Rel. Belt Con Construction, Inc. v. Metric Construction Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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