Court Opinion

ID: 9446590
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 21:59:02.869131+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:30:42.747720
License: Public Domain

EDGERTON, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
The parties agreed that decisions of the Contract Appeals Board on “disputes concerning questions arising under this contract * * * shall be final and conclusive.” Such agreements are valid unless legislation makes them invalid. They are valid not only as to questions of fact but also as to questions of law: “a conclusion that the question here is one of law cannot remove the controversy from the ambit” of the agreement which the parties “had a legal right” to make and did make. United States v. Moorman, 338 U.S. 457, 462-463, 70 S.Ct. 288, 94 L.Ed. 256.
With respect to “any contract entered into by the United States”, Congress has limited Moorman. 41 U.S.C.A. §§ 321-322. But Congress has not limited Moorman with respect to contracts entered into by the District of Columbia. That § 321 covers only contracts entered into by the United States is obvious and undisputed. I think the next section 322, likewise covers only such contracts. In § 322, instead of repeating “United States” Congress used the term “Government”, spelled with a capital G. That term, so spelled, quite commonly means the United States. In its present context I think it plainly means the United States.
Section 321 is entitled “Limitation on pleading contract-provisions relating to finality; standards of review”. It says: “No provision of any contract entered into by the United States, relating to the finality or conclusiveness of any decision of the head of any department or agency or his duly authorized representative or board in a dispute involving a question arising under such contract, shall be *931pleaded * * * as limiting judicial review of any such decision to cases where fraud * * * is alleged * Section 322 is entitled “Contract-provisions making decisions final on questions of law”. It says: “No Government contract shall contain a provision making final on a question of law the decision of any administrative official, representative, or board.” Sections 321 and 822 concern similar problems and similar principles. I know of no reason to suppose that they concern different governmental units. No reason has been suggested why Congress, though it chose to legislate only for the United States in respect to the subject matter of § 321, should at the same moment choose to legislate for the District of Columbia as well as the United States in respect to the subject matter of § 322.
Neither this legislation nor the House Report mentions the District of Columbia. H.R.Rep.No.1380, 83d Cong., 2d Sess. (1954). When Congress wishes to legislate regarding contracts of the District of Columbia as well as contracts of the United States, Congress names the District of Columbia as well as the United States. Thus § 35 of Title 41 provides: “In any contract made and entered into by any executive department, independent establishment, or other agency or instrumentality of the United States, or by the District of Columbia * * for the manufacture or furnishing of materials, supplies, articles, and equipment in any amount exceeding $10,-000, there shall be included the following representations and stipulations: * Section 321 of Title 40 (not 41) U.S.C.A. provides: “The service and employment of all laborers * * * employed by the Government of the United States or the District of Columbia * * 'x' is limited and restricted to eight hours in any one calendar day * * *.”
I think we should enforce the agreement the parties made. We disregard it if we review the decision of the Contract Appeals Board.