Free Answer - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:04-cv-00636-LB

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS METRICA, INC., Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 04-636C (Judge Block)

DEFENDANT'S ANSWER For its answer to the complaint, defendant admits, denies, and alleges as follows: The allegations contained in plaintiff's Introduction constitute conclusions of law, and plaintiff's characterization of its case, to which no answer is required. Jurisdiction1 1. The allegations contained in paragraph 1 constitute

conclusions of law to which no answer is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Parties 2. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 2 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth.

The complaint includes various headings. We do not believe that a response to these headings is necessary or appropriate. Should the Court conclude that a response is required, defendant responds that these headings constitute conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterization of its case, to which no answer is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied.

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3.

The complaint does not contain a paragraph 3.

Accordingly, no response is required. 4. The allegations contained in paragraph 4 constitute

conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterization of its case, to which no answer is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Facts 5. Denies the allegation contained in paragraph 5 that the

Government issued the solicitation on or about March 21, 2003; admits the remainder of the allegations contained in paragraph 5 to the extent supported by the solicitation cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the remainder of the allegations contained in paragraph 5. Avers that the

Government issued the solicitation on August 29, 2002. 6. 7. Admits. Admits the allegations contained in the first and Admits the allegation

second sentences of paragraph 7.

contained in the third sentence of paragraph 7 that ACS's proposal was more costly than Metrica's proposal; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the third sentence of paragraph 7. Denies the allegations contained in the fourth and Admits the allegation, contained

fifth sentences of paragraph 7.

in the sixth sentence of paragraph 7, that Metrica was the incumbent; denies the remainder of the allegations in the sixth

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sentence of paragraph 7.

Admits the allegations contained in the

seventh sentence of paragraph 7 that Denise Johnson was a Government employee who managed the DMLSS project; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the seventh sentence of paragraph 7. 8. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence Admits the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 8.

sentence of paragraph 8 that the Government permitted ACS to work on the DMLSS project pursuant to a bridge contract, despite the protest; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the second sentence of paragraph 8. Denies the allegations contained Avers that the actions

in the third sentence of paragraph 8.

taken by the Government subsequent to Metrica's GAO protest were based upon the needs of the agency. 9. Admits the allegation contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 9 that the protest litigation lasted "many weeks"; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the first sentence of paragraph 9. Admits the allegation contained in the

second sentence of paragraph 9 that the Government agreed to recompete the DMLSS procurement; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the second sentence of paragraph 9. 10. 11. Admits. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 11.

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sentence of paragraph 11.

Avers that the suspension of

performance by Metrica following ACS's GAO protest was mandated by law. 12. Denies the allegations contained in the first and Admits the allegation

second sentences of paragraph 12.

contained in the third sentence of paragraph 12 that Ms. Johnson had conversations with, and sent electronic mail messages to, various individuals concerning this matter; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the third sentence of paragraph 12. Denies the allegations contained in the fourth sentence of

paragraph 12 because plaintiff has failed to identify the contracts to which it is referring. Admits the allegations contained in the fifth sentence of paragraph 12 that Pedro Gomez is an employee of MSGI and that MSGI is a subcontractor to ACS; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the fifth sentence of paragraph 12. Admits the allegations contained in

the sixth sentence of paragraph 12 that the ACS contract's statement of work does not include Metrica's work to the extent supported by the contract cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies these allegations; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the sixth sentence of paragraph 12. 13. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 13 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as

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to their truth. 14. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 14 to the

extent supported by the protest cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in paragraph 14. 15. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 15 to the

extent supported by the solicitation cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in paragraph 15. 16. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 16 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 17. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence Denies the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 17.

sentence of paragraph 17. 18. Denies the allegations contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 18 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. Admits the allegations

contained in the second sentence of paragraph 18 to the extent supported by the solicitation cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in the second sentence of paragraph 18. 19. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 19 to the

extent supported by the solicitation cited, which is the best

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evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in paragraph 19. 20. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 20 that "[t]he approach to staffing the project is to maintain the existing teams that are currently involved in the DMLSS 3.X deployment process, if possible," to the extent supported by the proposal cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the first sentence of paragraph 20 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. Admits the allegations contained in the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sentences of paragraph 20 to the extent supported by the proposal cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth sentences of 20. 21. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 21 to the paragraph

extent supported by the proposal cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in paragraph 21. 22. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 22 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth.

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23.

Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 23 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 24. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 24 that § L.2.1.2 of the solicitation "mandated that Metrica had to certify to two things ­ that the resume was accurate and that the individual would be available for assignment on the effective date of the contract" to the extent supported by the solicitation cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the first sentence of paragraph 24 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. Denies the allegations contained in the second, third,

fourth, and fifth sentences of paragraph 24 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 25. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 25 that

Metrica submitted resumes for three persons and that these persons were then ACS employees; admits the allegation contained in paragraph 25 that Metrica certified "that this resume is accurate and that (NAME OF PERSON) has agreed to work on this contract if awarded to Metrica, Inc." to the extent supported by the resumes cited, which are the best evidence of their contents; otherwise denies these allegations; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in paragraph 25 for lack of knowledge or

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information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 26. Admits the allegation contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 26 that Metrica proposed three ACS employees; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in paragraph 26 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 27. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 27 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 28. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 28 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 29. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 29 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 30. Denies the allegations contained in paragraph 30 for

lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. 31. Denies the allegations contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 31 for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth. Denies the allegation

contained in the second sentence of paragraph 31 that "this question was not asked of them" for lack of knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to their truth; denies

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the remainder of the allegations contained in the second sentence of paragraph 31. 32. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 32 to the

extent supported by the proposal cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in paragraph 32. 33. Admits the allegation contained in paragraph 33 that

Section L.2.1 of the RFP required submission of certifications to the extent supported by the RFP cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies these allegations; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in paragraph 33. 34. Admits the allegations contained in the first sentence Admits the allegations contained in the second

of paragraph 34.

sentence of paragraph 34 that the solicitation did not require Metrica to have the proposed employee's agreement to submit his or her name or submit his or her resume to the extent supported by the solicitation cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies these allegations; denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the second sentence of paragraph 34. 35. Admits the allegations contained in paragraph 35 to the

extent supported by the GAO decision cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the allegations contained in paragraph 35.

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36.

Admits the allegation contained in the first sentence

of paragraph 36 that the Government contracting officer issued a contract modification on or about March 4, 2004; admits the remainder of the allegations contained in the first sentence of paragraph 36 to the extent supported by the contract modification cited, which is the best evidence of its contents; otherwise denies the remainder of the allegations contained in the first sentence of paragraph 36. Denies the allegations contained in Admits the allegations Avers that the

the second sentence of paragraph 36.

contained in the third sentence of paragraph 36.

Government has withheld payment on two invoices from Metrica totaling $55,554.71. 37. Denies. Count I 38. Defendant's responses to paragraphs 1 through 37 of the

complaint are incorporated by reference. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies. Denies. Count II 44. Defendant's responses to paragraphs 1 through 43 of the

complaint are incorporated by reference.

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45.

The allegations contained in paragraph 45 constitute

conclusions of law and plaintiff's characterization of its case, to which no answer is required; to the extent they may be deemed allegations of fact, they are denied. Count III 46. Defendant's responses to paragraphs 1 through 45 of the

complaint are incorporated by reference. 47. 48. 49. Denies. Denies. Denies that plaintiff is entitled to the relief set

forth in the prayer for relief immediately following paragraph 48, or to any relief whatsoever. 50. Denies each and every allegation not previously

admitted or otherwise qualified. WHEREFORE, defendant requests that the Court enter judgment in its favor, order that the complaint be dismissed, and grant defendant such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper. Respectfully submitted, PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General DAVID M. COHEN Director /s Brian M. Simkin BRIAN M. SIMKIN Assistant Director -11-

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/s Thomas D. Dinackus THOMAS D. DINACKUS Trial Attorney Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20530 Tele: (202) 307-6289 Fax: (202) 514-7969 Attorneys for Defendant OF COUNSEL: LTC CHARLES HAYES MAJ ANISSA N. PAREKH U.S. Army Legal Services Agency July 8, 2004

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NOTICE OF FILING I hereby certify that on July 8, 2004, a copy of the foregoing "DEFENDANT'S ANSWER" was filed electronically. I

understand that notice of this filing will be sent to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system. may access this filing through the Court's system. /s Thomas D. Dinackus Parties