Court Opinion

ID: 9929830
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-05 15:00:51.816594+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:54:45.621762
License: Public Domain

ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS
 Appeal of -                                     )
                                                 )
 JE Dunn Construction Company                    )    ASBCA No. 63183
                                                 )
 Under Contract No. W9127S-17-D-6003             )

 APPEARANCES FOR THE APPELLANT:                       Nicholas T. Solosky, Esq.
                                                      Reginald M. Jones, Esq.
                                                      Morgan M. Tapp, Esq.
                                                       Fox Rothschild LLP
                                                       Washington, DC

 APPEARANCES FOR THE GOVERNMENT:                      Michael P. Goodman, Esq.
                                                       Engineer Chief Trial Attorney
                                                      Michael T. Geiselhart, Esq.
                                                       Engineer Trial Attorney
                                                       U.S. Army Engineer District, Jacksonville

                                                      Allen S. Black, Esq.
                                                       Engineer Trial Attorneys
                                                       U.S. Army Engineer District, Little Rock

             OPINION BY ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE MCILMAIL
         ON THE GOVERNMENT’S MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

        The government requests reconsideration of our recent decision denying the
government’s motion to dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction, or for failure to
state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6), which motion alleged that appellant did not present to the
contracting officer separate sums certain for the three components of its appeal. We
concluded that “[h]aving waited until after the hearing on the merits to request
dismissal, on sum-certain grounds, for lack of jurisdiction or failure to state a claim
upon which relief can be granted, the government forfeited its right to challenge
[appellant’s] satisfaction of the sum-certain requirement.” JE Dunn Constr. Co.,
ASBCA No. 63183, 2023 WL 9054358 (Dec. 13, 2023). We have not requested a
response from appellant. See John Shaw LLC d/b/a Shaw Bldg. Maint., ASBCA
No. 61379, 18-1 BCA ¶ 37,026 at 180,294.

       The government’s 18-page motion for reconsideration is essentially a more
fulsome explanation of the position it set forth in the three pages that it originally filed
in response to our request for briefing of the effect of ECC Int’l Constructors, LLC v.
 Sec’y of Army, 79 F.4th 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2023), upon this appeal. We will not disturb
 an earlier decision where the losing side presents essentially the same arguments as
 before, or arguments that might have been made, however more intense is the new
 attempt. See Quality Trust Inc., ASBCA No. 59983, 16-1 BCA ¶ 36,424 at 177,572;
 Avant Assessment, LLC, ASBCA No. 58867, 15-1 BCA ¶ 36,137 at 176,384. The only
 component of the government’s motion that we find merits express response is the
 contention that we “treated the sum-certain requirement as an affirmative defense that
 must be raised by [the government] rather than being raised sua sponte by the Board.” ∗
 We take it that the bottom-line question is whether the government must have
 affirmatively challenged appellant’s satisfaction of the sum certain requirement no
 later than during the hearing on the merits, or forfeit its right to that challenge. The
 answer is yes. The motion for reconsideration is denied.

           Dated: January 22, 2024

                                                  TIMOTHY P. MCILMAIL
                                                  Administrative Judge
                                                  Armed Services Board
                                                  of Contract Appeals

I concur                                          I concur

OWEN C. WILSON                                    MICHAEL N. O’CONNELL
Administrative Judge                              Administrative Judge
Acting Chairman                                   Acting Vice Chairman
Armed Services Board                              Armed Services Board
of Contract Appeals                               of Contract Appeals

 ∗
     Gov’t mot. at 1.
                                            2
      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. 63183, Appeal of JE Dunn
Construction Company, rendered in conformance with the Board’s Charter.

      Dated: January 23, 2024

                                               PAULLA K. GATES-LEWIS
                                               Recorder, Armed Services
                                               Board of Contract Appeals

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