Free Motion for Summary Judgment - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:02-cv-01894-EJD

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE(S) SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 I. II. III. THE STANDARD OF REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CONSUMERS IS REQUIRED TO PAY ITS ONE-TIME FEE BEFORE DOE IS OBLIGATED TO BEGIN ACCEPTING CONSUMERS' SNF . . . . . . . 5 BECAUSE CONSUMERS HAS FAILED TO PAY ITS ONE-TIME FEE, IT HAS FAILED TO SATISFY A CONDITION TO DOE'S OBLIGATION TO BEGIN ACCEPTING CONSUMERS' SNF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A. B. Consumers' Payment Of The One-Time Fee Is A Condition Precedent To DOE's Obligation To Accept Any Of Consumers' SNF . . . 7 Consumers Cannot Claim Damages For A Partial Breach Of Contract Before It Satisfies Its Condition To DOE's Obligation To Accept Its SNF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

IV.

TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COURT DOES NOT DISMISS PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT AND AWARDS PLAINTIFF DAMAGES FOR PARTIAL BREACH, DEFENDANT IS ENTITLED TO RECOVER THE UNPAID ONE-TIME FEE, PLUS ACCRUED INTEREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

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Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 Apex Pool Equipment Corp. v. Lee, 419 F.2d 556 (2d Cir. 1969) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Avia Group International, Inc. v. L.A. Gear California, Inc., 853 F.2d 1557 (Fed. Cir. 1988) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Barron Bancshares, Inc. v. United States, 53 Fed. Cl. 310 (2002), aff'd in relevant part, 366 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Bluebonnet Savings Bank v. United States, 339 F.3d 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18, 19, 21 Cecile Industries, Inc. v. Cheney, 995 F.2d 1052 (Fed. Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21 Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S.317 (1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Cities Service Helix, Inc. v. United States, 211 Ct. C 543 F.2d 1306 (1976) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 City of Fairfax, Va. v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 582 F.2d 1321 (4th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 914 (1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Danzig v. AEC Corp., 224 F.3d 1333 (Fed. Cir. 2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 DPJ Co. v. FDIC, 30 F.3d 247 (1st Cir. 1994) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 First Federal Savings & Loan Associate v. United States, 58 Fed. Cl. 139 (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Franconia Associates v. United States, 536 U.S. 129 (2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13, 17 ii

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In re Gober, 100 F.3d 1195 (5th Cir. 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Hansen Bancorp, Inc. v. United States, 53 Fed. Cl. 92 (2002), vacated and remanded on other grounds, 367 F.3d 1297 (Fed. Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Indiana Michigan Power Co. v. United States, 60 Fed. Cl. 639 (2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 LaSalle Talman Bank v. United States, 317 F.3d 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Landmark Land Co. v. United States, 256 F.3d 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9 Lester v. Resolution Trust Corp., 994 F.2d 1247 (10th Cir. 1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Lovink v. Guilford Mills, Inc., 878 F.2d 584 (2d Cir. 1989) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11 Lucente v. IBM Corp., 310 F.3d 243 (2d Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 15, 16 Madden v. United States, 178 Ct. Cl. 121, 371 F.2d 469 (1967) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority v. United States, 129 F.3d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Mingus Constructors, Inc. v. United States, 812 F.2d 1387 (Fed. Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 PVI, Inc. v. Ratiopharm, 253 F.3d 320 (8th Cir. 2001) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Pinewood Realty Ltd. P'ship v. United States, 223 Ct. Cl. 98, 617 F.2d 211 (1980) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 iii

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Project Map, Inc. v. United States, 203 Ct. Cl. 52, 486 F.2d 1375 (1973) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 REW Enterprises, Inc. v. Premier Bank, N.A., 49 F.3d 163 (5th Cir. 1995) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Roboserve, Inc. v. Kato Kagaku Co., 78 F.3d 266 (7th Cir. 1996) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Roehm v, Horst, 178 U.S. 13 (1900) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 S&R Corp. v. Jiffy Lube International, Inc., 968 F.2d 371 (3d Cir. 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 San Carlos Irrigation & Drainage District v. United States, 23 Cl. Ct. 276 (1991), aff'd, 111 F.3d 1557 (Fed. Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sinclair Oil Corp. v. United States, 291 F.3d 822 (Fed. Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 21 Sweats Fashions, Inc. v. Pannill Knitting Company, Inc., 833 F.2d 1560 (Fed. Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Tretchick v. Department of Transportation, 109 F.3d 749 (Fed. Cir. 1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 United States v. Dekonty Corp., 109 F.3d 749 (Fed. Cir. 1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 United States v. Munsey Trust Co., 332 U.S. 234 (1947) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 21 Vari-Build, Inc. v. City of Reno, 622 F. Supp. 97 (D. Nev. 1985) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 White v. Delta Construction International, Inc., 285 F.3d 1040 (Fed. Cir. 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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Wisconsin Power & Light Co. v. Century Indemnity Co., 130 F.3d 787 (7th Cir.1997) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 REGULATIONS 10 C.F.R. § 961.11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim MISCELLANEOUS 3A A. Corbin, Corbin on Contracts § 639 (1960) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4 A. Corbin, Corbin on Contracts § 972 (1951) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8 C. McCauliff, Corbin on Contracts § 31.2 (rev. ed. 1999) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 S. Williston, Contracts § 669 (3d ed. 1961) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Black's Law Dictionary 1275 (6th ed. 1990) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 236 cmt. b (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 253 cmt. a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 253 cmt. b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Restatement (Second) of Contracts, Ch. 9, Topic 5 Conditions and Similar Events (1981) . . . 8

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INDEX TO APPENDIX DOCUMENT PAGE

Letter from Eugene R. VanHoof, Consumers Power Company, to Mr. Christopher Jedrey, Department of Energy, dated May 31, 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Internal memorandum from Consumers Power Company entitled "Responses to R J Ancona Letter of May 1, 1984 Regarding Spent Nuclear Fuel Costs And The Nuclear Fuel Waste Disposal Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Internal Correspondence from T.C. Bordine, Consumers Power Company, dated May 7, 1992, regarding "Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipments To DOE" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Memorandum from T.C. Bordine, Consumers Power Company, dated January 21, 1993, regarding "DOE Allocations ­ SNF Shipments" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Letter from Thomas C. Bordine, Consumers Power, to Linda Stroud, Contracting Officer, Department of Energy, dated April 13, 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Internal Correspondence from K.J. Shields, Consumers Power Company, to T.C. Bordine regarding "Correcting DCS forms," dated June 18, 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Internal Correspondence from K.J. Shields, Consumers Power Company, to R.W. Sinderman regarding "SNM Inventory to 2007 based on DCS's," dated August 16, 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Letter from Thomas C. Bordine, Consumers Power, to Beth Tomasoni, Contracting Officer, Department of Energy, dated August 19, 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Unsigned Delivery Commitment Schedule for 1999 with handwritten notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Approved Delivery Commitment Schedules for 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Approved Delivery Commitment Schedules for 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Approved Delivery Commitment Schedules for 2001 and 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Pages from Consolidated Accounting and Investment System, Nuclear Waste Fund, Quarterly Statement of Payments, dated April 2, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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