United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. United States

35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,637, 16 Cl. Ct. 541, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 51, 1989 WL 26861
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 24, 1989
DocketNo. 330-86C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,637 (United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. 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
United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. United States, 35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,637, 16 Cl. Ct. 541, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 51, 1989 WL 26861 (cc 1989).

Opinion

[542]*542OPINION

ROBINSON, Judge.

This case comes before the court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Company, a Miller Act surety, claims it is entitled to $14,722.26 in progress payments that the defendant disbursed to the contractor’s assignee. The defendant contends that the actions of its contracting officer in disbursing the progress payments were not arbitrary and capricious. Because the court has determined that issues of fact remain in dispute, it denies the parties’ cross-motions. The court’s reasoning follows.

FACTS

On March 29, 1983, the Department of the Army awarded National Roofing and Painting Corporation (NRPC) Contract No. DAAH03-83-D-0017 for the painting of family housing quarters at the Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Plaintiff United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company (USF & G), issued performance and payment bonds as surety for NRPC, pursuant to the Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 270a, et seq.

The contract incorporated by reference a standard progress payments clause requiring the government to pay the contractor, upon submission of proper invoices, the prices stipulated in the contract for services rendered and accepted. Before award of the contract, NRPC assigned the contract proceeds to First American Bank of Pensacola (FABP), pursuant to the Assignment of Claims Act of 1940, 31 U.S.C. § 3727, 41 U.S.C. § 15.

On June 1, 1983, NRPC submitted invoices for contract work performed from April 1, 1983, to May 31, 1983. The contract work covered by these invoices was inspected and accepted by the Army.

By letter dated June 3,1983, NRPC President William G. Ogbum notified USF & G that NRPC was financially unable to complete its obligations under the contract and declared itself in default. Ogbum requested that USF & G take whatever action necessary to fulfill NRPC’s obligations under the contract.

On June 7,1983, a representative of USF & G telephoned Myrtle Stewart, an Army contract specialist at Redstone Arsenal, and notified her of NRPC’s default. The USF & G representative also informed Stewart that the surety would be taking action necessary to continue performance of the contract.

At a meeting between USF & G representatives and the Army’s contracting officer on June 10, 1983, the contracting officer was shown the June 3, 1983 letter from NRPC to USF & G in which the contractor declared itself to be in default. The contracting officer informed the USF & G representatives that she had not been notified by NRPC of its default and that the contractor should notify her immediately if it considered itself in default.

On June 9 and 10, 1983, the contracting officer approved for payment two invoices submitted for payment June 1, 1983. On June 16, 1983, formal payment was made to FABP.

That same day, at a meeting between the contracting officer, the president of NRPC, and representatives of USF & G, USF & G informed the contracting officer that it had paid materialmen and other vendors of NRPC. The parties drafted a supplemental agreement at the meeting under which USF & G agreed to complete the contract, but progress payments earned by NRPC were to be paid to FABP and not USF & G unless: (1) the assignee (FABP) consented in writing to such payment, (2) a determination was made by the Comptroller General, or (3) a decision was made by a court of competent jurisdiction.

On June 21, 1983, the contracting officer determined that terminating the contract would not be in the best interests of the U.S. Government and executed the supplemental agreement. After completing the contract, USF & G brought this suit against the government for $14,722.26, the amount of progress payments it claims the government wrongly paid FABP after being notified of NRPC’s default. The case is now before the court on the parties’ [543]*543cross-motions for summary judgment pursuant to RUSCC 56.

QUESTION PRESENTED

Is either the plaintiff or the defendant entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law upon the facts now available to the court in the record?

DISCUSSION

To grant a motion for summary judgment, the Claims Court must find that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, All U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The moving party has the burden of establishing that there is no material fact in dispute and that it is entitled to judgment on the applicable law. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Molinaro v. Fannon/Courier Corp., 745 F.2d 651, 653-54 (Fed.Cir.1984). The party opposing the motion has the burden of showing sufficient evidence that there is a genuine issue of material fact in dispute. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, All U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). All justifiable inferences are to be drawn in favor of the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, All U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513.

Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment relies upon its interpretation of Great American Insurance Co. v. United States, 492 F.2d 821, 203 Ct.Cl. 592 (1974). There, the government released a final contract payment to a government contractor after due notification of the unpaid claims of laborers and materialmen. In holding the government liable to the surety for such payments, the court ruled that the government had improperly abandoned its role as stakeholder in electing to decide the merits of the conflicting claims to the final payment without a valid reason for doing so.

The plaintiff’s reliance upon Great American is, however, misplaced, for the instant case concerns progress payments on a government contract, not a final payment. The law governing the government’s duties as to progress payments when a contractor is in default on a government contract is set forth in Balboa Insurance Co. v. United States, 775 F.2d 1158 (Fed.Cir.1985), and its progeny. See, e.g., Integon Indemnity Corp. v. United States, 12 Cl.Ct. 115 (1987), and United Pacific Insurance Co. v. United States, 16 Cl.Ct. 555 (1989). Citing Argonaut Insurance Co. v. United States, 434 F.2d 1362,1367,193 Ct.Cl. 483 (1970) and United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. United States, 676 F.2d 622, 628, 230 Ct.Cl. 355 (1982), the court in Balboa

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Bluebook (online)
35 Cont. Cas. Fed. 75,637, 16 Cl. Ct. 541, 1989 U.S. Claims LEXIS 51, 1989 WL 26861, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-fidelity-guaranty-co-v-united-states-cc-1989.