Opinion ID: 1939265
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Limits on the warranty of commercial availability.

Text: While the warranty of commercial availability shifts the risk of nonperformance due to commercial unavailability from the contractor to the government, it does not relieve the contractor of any of the usual risks of non-performance stemming from the contractor's relationship with subcontractors. As it was put in General Ship Corp. v. United States, 634 F.Supp. 868 (D.Mass.1986), Designating a particular subcontractor in the contract between [the government] and the prime contractor does not ... shift the entire risk of the subcontractor's non-performance, defective performance, or untimely performance to [the government]. The prime contractor bids on and enters the contract, knowing and accepting the designation of the subcontractor. In its subcontract it provides whatever measure of protection it thinks it needs. Id. at 869. Thus, the warranty of commercial availability is a limited one. The warranty means that the sole-source supplier is capable of providing the specified product. Interstate Coatings, Inc. v. United States, 7 Cl.Ct. 259, 261 (1985); Franklin E. Penny Co. v. United States, 207 Ct.Cl. 842, 524 F.2d 668, 674-75 (1975); Cascade Elec. Co., ASBCA No. 28674, 84-1 B.C.A. ¶ 17,210 (1984). It does not extend to the willingness of a supplier to provide the specified product within the time period specified by the contract. Franklin E. Penny Co., supra, 524 F.2d at 675. Similarly, the unexcused performance failure by a Government directed sole-source supplier does not relieve the contractor from its obligation to complete performance within the time period specified in the contract. Cascade Elec. Co., supra, 84-1 B.C.A. ¶ 17,210 at 85,683. Nor does the warranty extend to the terms and conditions insisted upon by a supplier, Bogue Elec. Mfg. Co., ASBCA Nos. 25184, 29606, 86-2 B.C.A. ¶ 18,925 at 95,480 (1986), or the price. Arnold M. Diamond, Inc., ASBCA No. 22733, 78-2 B.C.A. ¶ 13,447 at 65,720 (1978). Moreover, there is no warranty that the sole-source supplier will perform whatever subcontract it enters into with the contractor. General Ship Corp. v. United States, 634 F.Supp. 868, 870 (D.Mass.1986). See also Paccon, Inc. v. United States, 185 Ct.Cl. 24, 399 F.2d 162, 168 (1968) (a warranty that would impose upon the government the burden of guaranteeing the performance of third parties without regard to any fault of its own is an unusual assumption of responsibility that should not be inferred from ambiguous, inconclusive, or general discussions).