Winmar, Inc. v. Al Jazeera International

741 F. Supp. 2d 165, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103031, 2010 WL 3832600
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedSeptember 29, 2010
DocketCivil Action 06-1307 (GK)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 741 F. Supp. 2d 165 (Winmar, Inc. v. Al Jazeera International) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Winmar, Inc. v. Al Jazeera International, 741 F. Supp. 2d 165, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103031, 2010 WL 3832600 (D.D.C. 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GLADYS KESSLER, District Judge.

Third-party Plaintiff Winmar, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based construction firm, brings this claim for breach of contract and unjust enrichment against Third-party Defendant Al Jazeera International, a division of Al Jazeera Satellite Network, an international news network headquartered in Doha, Qatar. 1 Al Jazeera International counter-claims against Winmar for breach of contract, mistake, and unjust enrichment. This dispute arises out of a 2005 contract between Al Jazeera and Winmar to construct a state-of-the-art television studio and office space at 1627 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. On June 30, 2010 through July 2, 2010, a bench trial was held in which eight witnesses testified. Based on the testimony presented by those witnesses, the exhibits admitted into evidence, the parties’ representations of what facts were not in dispute, and the applicable caselaw, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Third-party Plaintiff Winmar, Inc. (“Winmar” or “Plaintiff’) is a corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia with its principal place of business located in the District of Columbia. Defendant Al Jazeera International (“Al Jazeera” or “Defendant”) is a division of Al Jazeera Satellite Network, an entity organized under the laws of the Government of the State of Qatar which has its principal place of business in Doha, Qatar.

2. In 2005, Al Jazeera and Winmar entered into a contract (“the Contract”) for the construction of a state-of-the-art television studio and office space on the fourth and seven floors rented by Al Jazeera in a building located at 1627 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. (the “Project”). The Contract consisted of the Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Contractor, AIA Document A101-1997 (“Standard Form”) and AIA Document A2011997 (“General Conditions”), as modified by the parties, as well as other “Contract Documents,” including a one-page Monthly Cash Flow Statement and a four-page Construction proposal dated September 16, 2005.

3. The Contract is governed by the laws of the District of Columbia. Jurisdiction and venue in this district are proper both for Winmar’s claims against Al Jazeera and Al Jazeera’s counterclaims against Winmar. Pursuant to § 4.6.2 of the General Conditions of the Contract, Winmar and Al Jazeera have waived their right to a jury trial.

4. Although the Contract was not executed until November 23, 2005, Winmar began work on the Project on October 16, 2005, and was scheduled to reach substantial completion 136 days later, 2 on March 1, *171 2006. For the duration of Winmar’s work on the Project, John J. Kirlin, Inc., a Maryland-based firm, performed the Project’s mechanical engineering work and PelBern, Inc., also a Maryland-based firm, performed the Project’s electrical work as Winmar’s sub-contractors.

5. The Project’s architect was Janson Design Group (“Architect”), a New York-based architecture firm. As the Project’s Architect, and pursuant to § 4.2.1 of the General Conditions, Janson Design Group acted as Al Jazeera’s representative throughout the events discussed herein.

6. In September 2005, Winmar submitted the sole bid in response to the Architect’s solicitation to perform construction work on the Project. The bid included a project summary, as well as specific line items derived from the set of plans received from the Architect and the bids that Winmar received from sub-contractors. Winmar bid to perform the Project for $2,351,615 under a lump-sum contract. The amount bid did not include extra charges for any change orders submitted by the Architect. On September 16, 2005, as a part of its bid, Winmar included a one-page Monthly Cash Flow Projection Sheet and a four-page Construction Proposal.

7. On October 4, 2005, Winmar sent a letter of intent to A1 Jazeera proposing “to furnish and install all necessary labor and materials for the interior construction per the plans that have been issued and the bid proposal that has been given and the scope of work that is listed” for $2,351,615, plus a $365,135 premium time contingency. On October 5, 2010, Gary Napier, the A1 Jazeera representative who oversaw the Project’s financing, approved and acknowledged the letter of intent. Winmar began work on the Project on October 16, 2005.

8. It was not until November 23, 2005, after over a month of negotiations between Winmar and A1 Jazeera, that the parties executed the Contract.

9. Section 4.1 of the Standard Form provides that “[t]he Owner shall pay the Contractor the Contract Sum in current funds for the Contractor’s performance of the Contract. The Contract Sum shall be two million three hundred fifty one thousand six hundred fifteen dollars ($2,351,615.00), subject to additions and deductions as provided in the Contract Documents.” This Contract Sum did not include any change orders.

10. The Contract Documents incorporated into the Contract included in part (1) the Monthly Cash Flow Projection Sheet with a base contract amount of $2,351,615, revised at the time of the Contract’s execution to include an additional $522,135 3 for the Architect’s October 11, 2005 Change Orders (Number 1, to furnish and install a Multistak Chiller and Number 2, for premium time), for a total contract amount of $2,873,750, and (2) the Construction Proposal, which allocated the base contract amount of $2,351,615 across categories of work.

11. On November 23, 2005, when the Contract was signed, the parties agreed to a total contract amount of $2,873,750, subject to any further additions and/or reductions resulting from additional change orders submitted by the Architect. The Contract is a fixed price or lump sum contract, and therefore the total Contract amount is not subject to any adjustment *172 on the basis of the costs incurred by Win-mar in performing the work.

12. The Contract required Al Jazeera to make progress payments on the total Contract amount throughout the period of Winmar’s work. 4 These progress payments were essential to assure an adequate cash flow for the Project, since Win-mar was often required to make advance deposits, large purchases for both custom-made and standard equipment and other pre-orders, and payments to subcontractors.

13. Article 5 of the Standard Form sets forth the procedures for making the progress payments: specifically, Al Jazeera agreed to deposit the amounts provided on the Monthly Cash Flow Projection Sheet into an escrow account 5 no later than the last day of the month preceding the month in which the work was to be performed. Section 5.1.2.4 of the Standard Form provides that any failure by Al Jazeera to deposit the amounts listed on the Monthly Cash Flow Projection Sheet constitutes a “material breach” of the Contract, giving Winmar the right to immediately suspend or terminate work after one day’s notice to Al Jazeera.

14.

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Bluebook (online)
741 F. Supp. 2d 165, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103031, 2010 WL 3832600, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/winmar-inc-v-al-jazeera-international-dcd-2010.