Free Motion in Limine - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:98-cv-00126-JFM

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No. 98-126C (Senior Judge Merow)

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
YANKEE ATOMIC ELECTRIC COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

DEFENDANT'S MOTION IN LIMINE TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE OF FUTURE DAMAGES PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General OF COUNSEL: JANE K. TAYLOR Office of General Counsel Department of Energy Washington, D.C. 20585 KEVIN B. CRAWFORD JOHN K. EKMAN HEIDE L. HERRMANN R. ALAN MILLER RUSSELL A. SHULTIS MARIAN E. SULLIVAN Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20585 June 1, 2004 DAVID M. COHEN Director HAROLD D. LESTER, JR. Assistant Director Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Attn: Classification Unit 8th Floor 1100 L Street, N.W. Washington, D. C. 20530 Tele: (202) 305-7562 Fax: (202) 307-2503

Attorneys for Defendant

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE(S) ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 I. II. THE YANKEES SEEK TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR A PARTIAL, RATHER THAN TOTAL, BREACH OF CONTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A PLAINTIFF SEEKING DAMAGES FOR A PARTIAL BREACH OF CONTRACT IS NOT ENTITLED TO RECOVER DAMAGES INCURRED AFTER THE DATE THAT ITS COMPLAINT WAS FILED OR, AT THE VERY LATEST, THE DATE OF TRIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A. B. III. Courts Distinguish Between A Total Breach Of Contract And A Partial Breach Of Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Courts Distinguish Between The Remedies Available For A Total Breach Of Contract And A Partial Breach Of Contract . . . . . . . . . . 6

BY RECOGNIZING A RIGHT TO FUTURE CAUSES OF ACTION BASED UPON FUTURE PARTIAL BREACHES, THE YANKEES IMPLIEDLY RECOGNIZE THE LIMITATIONS UPON THEIR ABILITY TO RECOVER FUTURE OR PROSPECTIVE DAMAGES . . . . . . . 12

CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES PAGE(S)

Ammex, Inc. v. United States, 334 F.3d 1052 (Fed. Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Christopher Village, L.P. v. United States, 360 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 City of Fairfax, Virginia v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 582 F.2d 1321 (4th Cir. 1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 914 (1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Coughlin v. Blair, 41 Cal. 2d 587, 262 P.2d 305 (1953) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 7, 8 Hansen Bancorp, Inc. v. United States, No. 03-50029, -5061, 2004 WL 1048186 (Fed. Cir. May 11, 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Indiana Michigan Power Co. v. United States, No. 98-486C, 2004 WL 1161880 (Fed. Cl. May 21, 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim Kaiser v. Northwest Shopping Ctr., Inc., 587 S.W.2d 454 (Tex. Civ. Ct. 1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 9 Keefe Co. v. Americable International, Inc., 755 A.2d 469 (D.C. Ct. App. 2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 May v. Morganelli-Heumann & Associates, 618 F.2d 1363 (9th Cir. 1980) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mobil Oil Exploration v. United States, 530 U.S. 604 (2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Newman-Green, Inc. v. Alfonzo-Larrain, 490 U.S. 826 (1989) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Quick v. American Steel & Pump Corp., 397 F.2d 561 (2d Cir. 1968) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 San Carlos Irrigation & Drainage District. v. United States, 23 Cl. Ct. 276 (1991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9

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

Yankee Atomic Electric Co. v. United States, 42 Fed. Cl. 223 (1998), aff'd sub nom. Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co. v. United States, 225 F.3d 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Young Engineers, Inc. v. United States International Trade Commission, 721 F.2d 1305 (Fed. Cir. 1983) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 MISCELLANEOUS 9 A. Corbin, Corbin on Contracts (interim ed. 1979) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . passim Restatement (First) of Contracts § 313 (1932) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 9 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 236 (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 4, 7 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 253 (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 26 (1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 6, 7

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