Engineering Solutions & Products, LLC
Docket: ASBCA 58633
Decision date: 2015-05-13

ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS 
Appeal of --
Engineering Solutions & Products, LLC 
Under Contract No. 000000-00-0-0000 
APPEARANCES FOR THE APPELLANT: 
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APPEARANCES FOR THE GOVERNMENT: 
ASBCA No. 58633 
Richard L. Moorhouse, Esq. 
Ryan C. Brade!, Esq. 
Greenberg Traurig, LLP 
McLean, VA 
Raymond M. Saunders, Esq. 
Army Chief Trial Attorney 
Kyle E. Chadwick, Esq. 
Trial Attorney 
OPINION BY ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE PAUL ON THE 
GOVERNMENT'S PARTIAL MOTION TO DISMISS 
AND FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT 
This is a timely appeal of a contracting officer's (CO's) decision denying 
appellant Engineering Solutions & Products, LLC's (ESP's), claim in a total amount of 
$3,317, 728.88. The Army filed a partial motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction 
alleging that the claim arises out of a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BP A) not a 
contract, and 
in any event the BP A was issued by the Department of the Treasury and 
not the Army. The Army also moves for partial summary judgment alleging there is 
no evidence of an implied-in-fact contract with the Army. ESP filed an opposition 
brief, the Army filed a reply brief, and ESP filed a sur-reply to which the Army objects 
in part. We deny the 
motions. 1 
STATEMENT OF FACTS FOR PURPOSES OF THE MOTION 
1. As stated in its pleadings, ESP provides engineering, technical, and 
consulting services primarily to the Department of Defense (DoD) at various locations 
in the United States, as well as overseas (comp I. if 5). Among its core services, ESP 
provides acquisition management services, contractor logistics support services, 
program analysis support services, and business process change 
software services 
1 Regarding the government's motion for partial summary judgment, or, in the 
alternative, to dismiss Count I ofESP's complaint; there is simply not enough 
record evidence to grant the motion to dismiss. Therefore, we deny the motion. 

under contracts with the Army, as well as competitively-awarded task orders. In 
addition, ESP supports various DoD agencies, allied militaries, and foreign military 
sales. (Id. , 6) 
2. In April 2003, ESP responded to a solicitation issued on behalf of the 
Army's Project Manager Soldier Equipment activity (PM SEQ) under the auspices of 
FedSource-Beaufort, a Treasury Department ordering activity. ESP's proposal 
included the lease of renovated storage space at a location in Haymarket, Virginia. 
ESP' s proposal was accepted and it was awarded at least one task order to satisfy the 
indicated requirements of the Army. The original lease was executed in June 2004 
between ESP and its then-lessor, PDH, LLC. In August 2004, a military 
Interdepartmental Purchase Request was issued by which the Army transferred funds 
in excess of $2 million to FedSource-Beaufort for the lease and maintenance of the 
storage facility (gov't hr. at 5). Later, ESP entered into a new lease with First Potomac 
Realty Trust (FPRn for the same requirement of 123,777 square feet. (Compl. 
~, 8-12) In October 2005, PM SEQ approached ESP and asked it to expedite the 
acquisition of a significant amount of additional space at the Haymarket facility. 
Representatives of PM SEQ, ESP, and ESP's lessor, FPRT, met on several occasions 
to discuss the additional space requirements. Subsequently, ESP renegotiated its lease 
with FPR T to increase the total amount of leased space at the Haymarket facility to 
236,082 square feet. The terms of the re-negotiated lease provided for a ten-year term 
with a termination date of 31March2017. Because of concerns that the Army's 
requirements for the Haymarket facility might not extend for the entire lease period, 
ESP negotiated zero rent for years eight to ten of the lease's term. The parties (FPRT 
and ESP) also negotiated an early termination provision whereby ESP would not pay 
rent beyond year six of the lease if it gave timely notice of termination by 30 June 
2012, paid an early termination fee of $600,000, and also paid the full rent for year six 
of the lease term which ended on 31March2013. (Id.~, 15-19) 
3. After ESP' s initial task order expired, a number of firms succeeded one 
another as the prime contractor with PM SEQ. Thus, ESP acted as a subcontractor to 
provide the Haymarket space to the Army. At the time when ESP filed its complaint, 
the prime contractor was Engility Corporation which operated under Contract 
No. W91CRB-11-C-0074 with the Army. ESP's subcontract with Engility had a 
performance period extending from 24 March 2011through23 September 2012. In 
early January 2012, Engility advised ESP that the Army intended to vacate the 
Haymarket facility by 23 March 2012. As a result, ESP submitted two invoices to the 
Army through Engility for reimbursement of its early termination costs. The first 
invoice was for the cancellation fee of $600,000, plus general and administrative 
expenses, in a total amount of$638,400. The second invoice was for the total amount 
of rent for year six, plus general and administrative expenses, in a total amount of 
$4,186,128.99. The Army rejected the invoices. (Compl. ,, 20-22, 25, 28-29) 
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4. On 6 December 2012, ESP filed a certified claim for the amounts at issue; 
and, in a final decision issued on 5 April 2013, the CO denied the claim in its entirety 
(compl. ~~ 30, 33). 
5. In its motion, the Army disputes many of the material facts set forth in ESP's 
complaint. For example, it contends that it did not direct ESP in October 2005 to 
expand significantly its Haymarket facility. Rather, Army personnel simply expressed 
an "interest" in using 
more space should it become available. (Gov't br. at 2) 
6. The Army also contends that the early termination fee cited by ESP was 
actually removed from the prime contract during contractual negotiations (gov't 
br. at 3). The Army argues that ESP and its landlord signed an amended lease 
agreement which doubled the amount of space at the Haymarket facility. This 
agreement also committed ESP to an additional lease term of ten years, through March 
2017; however, ESP was obligated to pay only taxes and expenses-and no lease 
rent-after March 2014. (Id.) 
7. The Army contends that none of its representatives either saw the amended 
lease agreement or knew of its terms before ESP signed it. It also alleges that no 
Army representative agreed to form a contract relating to the Haymarket facility. 
Finally, the Army alleges that it vacated the facility in March 2012 and that it did not 
need to terminate a contract, as the prime contract for the facility had already expired. 
(Gov't br. at 3) 
8. In its "STATEMENT OF GENUINE ISSUES OF MATERIAL FACT," 
ESP disputes 
most of the Army's factual narrative. Bolstering its arguments with 
sworn deposition testimony, ESP alleges that key Army officials did, indeed, direct it 
to expand the Haymarket facility. (App. br. at 12-13) ESP also disputes the Army 
contention that its officials did not know of the terms of its lease agreement, attributing 
knowledge of the lease to at least three governmental officials (id. at 13-14). ESP also 
contends that Army representatives were aware of the amended lease agreement (id. 
at 14). ESP concludes that "summary judgment cannot be granted when such core 
factual issues remain in dispute" (id. at 16). 
DECISION 
It is well settled that a grant of summary judgment is appropriate only where the 
movant establishes that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to 
judgment as a matter oflaw. Mingus Constructors, Inc. v. United States, 812 F.2d 1387, 
1390 (Fed. Cir. 1987); Proveris Scientific Corp. v. Innovasystems, Inc., 739 F.3d 1367, 
1371 (Fed. Cir. 2014). Here, the parties' factual positions are the legal equivalent of 
ships passing in the night. Indeed, they dispute almost every key material fact. Moreover, 
with respect to ESP's claim that it entered into an implied-in-fact contract with the Army, 
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it need only make a non-frivolous allegation in this regard to overcome the Army's 
jurisdictional contentions. Engage Learning, Inc. v. Salazar, 660 F.3d 1346, 1353 
(Fed. Cir. 2011). ESP has met this burden. Under these circumstances, a grant of 
summary judgment would be inappropriate. 2 
The motion is denied. 
Dated: 13 May 2015 
I concur 
Administrative Judge 
Acting Chairman 
Armed Services Board 
of Contract Appeals 
CONCLUSION 
MICHAEL T. PAUL 
Administrative Judge 
Armed Services Board 
of Contract Appeals 
I concur 
RICHARD SHACKLEFORD 
Administrative Judge 
Vice Chairman 
Armed Services Board 
of Contract Appeals 
I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the Opinion and Decision of the 
Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals in ASBCA No. 58633, Appeal of 
Engineering Solutions & Products, LLC, rendered in conformance with the Board's 
Charter. 
Dated: 
JEFFREY D. GARDIN 
Recorder, Armed Services 
Board of Contract Appeals 
2 We deny the Army's motion to strike portions ofESP's sur-reply brief. 
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