Free Description not available - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:02-cv-01894-EJD

Document 64-2

Filed 12/17/2004

Page 1 of 4

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE(S) ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 I. CONSUMERS' OBLIGATION TO PAY ITS ONE-TIME FEE BEFORE DOE BEGINS ACCEPTING CONSUMERS' SNF IS A CONDITION PRECEDENT TO DOE's DUTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 DOE'S DELAY IN BEGINNING SNF ACCEPTANCE FROM CONTRACT HOLDERS DOES NOT, IN A PARTIAL BREACH CASE, ELIMINATE THE CONDITION PRECEDENT TO THE ACCRUAL OF A DAMAGES CLAIM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A. Consumers' Election To Pursue A Partial Breach Of Contract Claim, Rather Than A Total Breach Claim, Means That, To Recover Partial Breach Damages, It Must Timely Perform Its Own Contract Duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Consumers' Contorted Interpretation Of The Meaning Of The Fee Payment Provision Does Not Alter The Timing Requirements Of The Fee Payment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

II.

B.

III.

CONSUMERS' ASSERTION THAT THE D.C. CIRCUIT HAS FOUND DOE'S OBLIGATION TO ACCEPT CONSUMERS' SNF TO BE WHOLLY INDEPENDENT OF ANY OBLIGATION TO PAY FEES IS MERITLESS . . 12 CONSUMERS' REFERENCES TO OTHER POSSIBLE REMEDIES FOR CONSUMERS' NON-PAYMENT OF ITS ONE-TIME FEE DOES NOT ELIMINATE THE NATURE OF THE CONDITION PRECEDENT . . . . 14 IF THE COURT DECLINES TO FIND THAT THE ONE-TIME FEE PAYMENT IS A CONDITION PRECEDENT, IT SHOULD ALLOW THE GOVERNMENT TO RECOVER THE ONE-TIME FEE PAYMENT IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANY DAMAGES AWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

IV.

V.

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

i

Case 1:02-cv-01894-EJD

Document 64-2

Filed 12/17/2004

Page 2 of 4

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES PAGE(S)

B-B Co. v. Piper Jaffray & Hopwood, Inc., 931 F.2d 675 (10th Cir. 1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Beauchamp Construction Co. v. United States, 14 Cl. Ct. 430 (1988) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Bettis v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 315 F.3d 325 (D.C. Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Bluebonnet Savings Bank, F.S.B. v. United States, 339 F.3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. v. United States, 49 Fed. Cl. 398 (2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Christopher Village, LP v. United States, 53 Fed. Cl. 182 (2002), aff'd, 360 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Cities Service Helex, Inc. v. United States, 211 Ct. Cl. 222, 543 F.2d 1306 (1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 City of Fairfax, Va. v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 582 F.2d 1321 (4th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 914 (1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Columbia Gas System, Inc. v. United States, 50 F.3d 233 (3d Cir. 1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Conley v. Pitney Bowes, 34 F.3d 714 (8th Cir. 1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 DPJ Co. v. FDIC, 30 F.3d 247, 250 (1st Cir.1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 In re Enron Corp. Securities, Derivatives & ERISA Litigation, 284 F. Supp. 511 (S.D. Tex. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Ferguson Propellor, Inc. v. United States, 59 Fed. Cl. 51 (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ii

Case 1:02-cv-01894-EJD

Document 64-2

Filed 12/17/2004

Page 3 of 4

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES (cont'd) CASES PAGE(S)

Honeywell International, Inc. v. Universal Avionics System Corp., No. 03-242, 2004 WL 2700019 (D. Del. Nov. 18, 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Indiana Michigan Power Co. v. United States, 60 Fed. Cl. 639 (2004), appeal pending, No. 04-5122 (Fed. Cir.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Kingston v. Preston, 99 Eng. Rep. 437 (K.B. 1773) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 6 Loud v. Pomona Land & Water Co., 153 U.S. 564 (1894) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Northern States Power Co. v. Department of Energy, 128 F.3d 754 (D.C. Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 S&R Corp. v. Jiffy Lube International, Inc., 968 F.2d 371 (3d Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Schneider National, Inc. v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 200 F. Supp. 1006 (E.D. Wis. 2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Skagen v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 910 F.2d 1498 (7th Cir. 1990) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Southeastern Airways Corp. v. United States, 230 Ct. Cl. 47, 673 F.2d 368 (1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Southern California Edison v. United States, 58 Fed. Cl. 313 (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 United States v. Munsey Trust Co., 332 U.S. 234 (1947) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 White v. Delta Construction International, Inc., 285 F.3d 1040 (Fed. Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

iii

Case 1:02-cv-01894-EJD

Document 64-2

Filed 12/17/2004

Page 4 of 4

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES (cont'd) STATUTES AND REGULATIONS PAGE(S)

42 U.S.C. §§ 10101-10270 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 42 U.S.C. § 10222(a)(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 10 C.F.R. § 961.11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim MISCELLANEOUS 2 E. Farnsworth, Farnsworth on Contracts § 8.11 (3d ed. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 6 13 R. Lord, Williston on Contracts § 38.8, at 405 (4th ed. 2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8 C. McCauliff, Corbin on Contracts § 30.7 (rev. ed. 1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 4, 6 L. Simpson, Handbook of the Law of Contracts § 152 (1965) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Black's Law Dictionary 1233 (5th ed. 1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 225(3) (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 237 (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 5 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

iv