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

Case 1:98-cv-00621-ECH

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Nos. 98-621C, 04-103C (Judge Hewitt)

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY and EXELON GENERATION COMPANY, LLC, Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT REGARDING PLAINTIFF'S RECOVERY OF FUTURE OR PROSPECTIVE DAMAGES PETER D. KEISLER Assistant Attorney General OF COUNSEL: JANE K. TAYLOR Office of General Counsel Department of Energy Washington, D.C. 20585 SHARON A. SNYDER STEPHEN FINN SONIA ORFIELD Commercial Litigation Branch Civil Division Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20585 June 2, 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

Case 1:98-cv-00621-ECH

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE(S) DEFENDANT'S BRIEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 STATEMENT OF FACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ARGUMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 I. II. THE STANDARD OF REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 IN THIS LITIGATION, COMMONWEALTH EDISON SEEKS TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR A PARTIAL, RATHER THAN TOTAL, BREACH OF CONTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 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. 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

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

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES PAGE(S)

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Ammex, Inc. v. United States, 334 F.3d 1052 (Fed. Cir. 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Avia Group International, Inc. v. L.A. Gear California, Inc., 853 F.2d 1557 (Fed. Cir. 1988) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 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) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Coughlin v. Blair, 41 Cal. 2d 587, 262 P.2d 305 (1953) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 8 Hansen Bancorp, Inc. v. United States, No. 03-5029, -5061, 2004 WL 1048186 (Fed. Cir. May 11, 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 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) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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

Mingus Constructors, Inc. v. United States, 812 F.2d 1387 (Fed. Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 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) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sweats Fashions, Inc. v. Pannill Knitting Co., 833 F.2d 1560 (Fed. Cir. 1987) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5, 9 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 236 (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5, 7 Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 253 (1981) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 26 (1982) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 6, 7

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INDEX TO APPENDIX (FILED UNDER SEAL) DOCUMENT PAGE

Commonwealth Edison Company's Amended RCFC 26(a)(1)(C) Disclosure, dated December 23, 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

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