U.S. Coating Specialties & Supplies, LLC
Docket: ASBCA 56105, ASBCA 56322
Decision date: 2021-09-13

 ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS 
 
Appeal of - )  
 )  
U.S. Coating Specialties & Supplies, LLC ) ASBCA No.  58245 
 )   
Under Contract No. W912EE-10-C-0019 )  
    
APPEARANCES FOR THE APPELLANT: Louis H. Watson, Jr., Esq. 
  Watson & Norris, PLLC 
  Jackson, MS 
 
Mr. Earl Washington 
  Chief Operation Officer & CEO 
 
APPEARANCES FOR THE GOVERNMENT: Michael P. Goodman, Esq. 
    Engineer Chief Trial Attorney 
 John M. Breland, Esq. 
Steven H. Finch, Esq. 
Shane T. Lauritzen, Esq. 
    Engineer Trial Attorneys 
    U.S. Army Engineer District, Vicksburg 
 
OPINION BY ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE WOODROW  
ON APPELLANT’S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION 
 
 This appeal arises from the termination for default of a contract to construct a 
building to house a large unclassified supercomputer at the Army’s Engineering Research 
and Design Center (ERCD).  On April 9, 2015, the Board issued a decision denying the 
government’s amended motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment.  
The Board also struck several affirmative counts of appellant’s complaint for lack of 
jurisdiction.  U.S. Coating Specialties & Supplies, LLC, ASBCA No. 58245, 15-1 BCA 
¶ 35,957 (U.S. Coating I).  On January 21, 2016, the government filed a renewed motion 
for summary judgment, contending that the parol evidence rule barred evidence of an 
alleged prior oral agreement between appellant and the Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) 
during appellant’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and alternatively, that the AUSA 
lacked actual authority to enter into the alleged agreement.  On April 6, 2017, the Board 
issued a decision denying the government’s motion.  U.S. Coating Specialties & Supplies, 
LLC, ASBCA No. 58245, 17-1 BCA ¶ 36,710 (U.S. Coating II).   
 
 In U.S. Coating II, we held that the record was insufficient to determine whether 
the April 25, 2012 bankruptcy agreement was a fully integrated agreement and that 
genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether there was a separate oral 

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agreement with the government to terminate the contract for convenience.  17-1 BCA 
¶ 36,710 at 178,760.  We further held the AUSA possessed the necessary authority to 
bind the government when the parties entered into the April 25, 2012 bankruptcy 
settlement agreement.  Id. at 178,761. 
 
 Subsequently, the parties agreed to the submission of the appeal on the record 
without a hearing pursuant to Board Rule 11.  Based on the briefs and evidence 
submitted, we concluded that appellant had not met its burden of demonstrating that the 
parties entered into a separate oral agreement to terminate the contract for convenience.  
We further concluded that the contracting officer (CO) reasonably exercised her 
discretion when she terminated the contract for default.  U.S. Coating Specialties & 
Supplies, LLC, ASBCA No. 58245, 20-1 BCA ¶ 37702 at 183,026 (U.S. Coating III). 
 
 On October 30, 2020, appellant moved for reconsideration of the Board’s decision, 
and, on February 17, 2021, the government filed its brief in opposition.  As set forth 
below, we deny appellant’s motion for reconsideration. 
 
DISCUSSION 
 
 In deciding a motion for reconsideration, we examine whether the motion is based 
upon newly discovered evidence, mistakes in our findings of fact, or errors of law.  Zulco 
Int’l, Inc., ASBCA No. 55441, 08-1 BCA ¶ 33,799 at 167,319.  A motion for 
reconsideration does not provide the moving party the opportunity to reargue its position 
or to advance arguments that properly should have been presented in an earlier 
proceeding.  See Dixon v. Shinseki, 741 F.3d 1367, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2014).  We do not 
grant motions for reconsideration absent a compelling reason.  J.F. Taylor, Inc., ASBCA 
Nos. 56105, 56322, 12-2 BCA ¶ 35,125 at 172,453. 
 
 In its motion for reconsideration, U.S. Coating does not challenge any of the 
Board’s factual conclusions.  Instead, U.S. Coating challenges inferences drawn from the 
record facts, rehashes old arguments, and seeks to resurrect claims that we previously 
dismissed. 
 
 First, U.S. Coating contends that the contracting officer, Jerri H. McGuffie, acted 
with racial animus and abused her discretion when she terminated the contract for default 
(app. mot. at 1).  Specifically, U.S. Coating contends that she terminated the contract in 
order to allow the white-owned subcontractor, Mid-State, to legally assume the contract 
in order to avoid having to re-compete the contract in accordance with the Small Business 
Administration’s 8(a) program (app. mot. at 1-3).  U.S. Coating offers no new evidence 
to support this allegation, but instead relies upon allegations in its complaint or upon 
affidavits that already are part of the record (app. mot. at 7-9). 
 

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U.S. Coating’s allegations concerning racial animus were the subject of several 
affirmative claims that appeared in U.S. Coating’s August 1, 2013 amended complaint.  
In our April 2015 decision, we struck these affirmative claims for lack of jurisdiction.  
The claims were based upon U.S. Coating’s allegations of racial animus and included 
affirmative claims for breach of contract, tortious interference with business and/or 
contractual relations, violations of the Fourteenth Amendment and the civil rights statutes 
(42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986), negatively impacting the project schedule, and 
adding unnecessary costs to the project.  U.S. Coating I at 175,705 (citing am. compl. 
¶¶ 23-48).  We found no evidence that U.S. Coating submitted any of these affirmative 
claims (stated in a sum certain or otherwise) to the contracting officer for decision and, 
therefore, concluded that U.S. Coating’s failure to do so deprived the Board of 
jurisdiction to entertain the claims.  Id. at 175,706. 
 
In our most recent decision, which considered the merits of appellant’s complaint, 
we considered all of the record evidence when we concluded that the CO reasonably 
exercised her discretion in terminating the contract for default.  In particular, we 
examined the CO’s contemporaneous memorandum for the record, which set forth 
unopposed evidence that U.S. Coating had failed to make reasonable progress on critical 
path items and provided no indication that it had a viable plan to halt slippage and regain 
the lost time.  U.S. Coating III at 183,035.  We also considered U.S. Coating’s contention 
that the CO acted unreasonably when she refused to meet with U.S. Coating’s president, 
Mr. Washington, regarding a replacement contractor.  We concluded that the CO was 
justified in refusing to meet with Mr. Washington unless U.S. Coating provided adequate 
assurances that its bonding company supported the replacement contractor.  Id. 
 
In that decision we addressed directly U.S. Coating’s allegations of bad faith, and 
held that its failure to provide any evidence of specific intent precluded us from 
concluding that the CO acted in bad faith when she terminated the contract.  Because 
U.S. Coating provides no new evidence with its motion for reconsideration, we decline to 
alter our decision.  See Computer Sciences Corp., ASBCA Nos. 56168, 56169, 09-2 BCA 
¶ 34,261 at 169,284 (denying motion for reconsideration in which party provides no new 
evidence). 
 
U.S. Coating also renews its argument that it had a prior oral agreement with the 
AUSA under which U.S. Coating would settle the bankruptcy litigation in exchange for an 
agreement that the Corps would terminate the contract for convenience (app. mot. at 5-6).  
Again, U.S. Coating does not offer new evidence to support its argument, but instead 
revisits the same argument we previously considered.  A motion for reconsideration is not 
intended to allow a party to reargue issues that previously were raised and decided.  See 
Green Valley Co., ASBCA No. 61275, 18-1 BCA ¶ 37,044 at 180,330.   
  

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CONCLUSION 
 
For these reasons, U.S. Coating’s motion for reconsideration is denied. 
 
Dated:  September 13, 2021 
 
 
 
KENNETH D. WOODROW 
Administrative Judge 
Armed Services Board 
of Contract Appeals 
 
I concur 
 
 
 
 I concur 
 
 
 
RICHARD SHACKLEFORD 
Administrative Judge 
Acting Chairman 
Armed Services Board 
of Contract Appeals 
 J. REID PROUTY 
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. 58245, Appeal of U.S. 
Coating Specialties & Supplies, LLC, rendered in conformance with the Board’s Charter. 
 
Dated:  September 13, 2021   
 
 
 
 
 
PAULLA K. GATES-LEWIS 
Recorder, Armed Services 
Board of Contract Appeals