Westbay Steel, Inc. v. United States

Westbay Steel, Inc. (Westbay) appeals from the district court’s dismissal of its suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (b). The district court dismissed the suit on jurisdictional grounds. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) entered into a contract with Kardan Construction, Inc. (Kardan), a general contractor, pursuant to which Kardan agreed to construct the Automated Flight Service Station at the Oakland Airport (Oakland Airport project). At the time this contract was signed, Kardan and the proposed sureties, Robert E. Alvarez and Robert H. Alvarez (sureties), executed a payment bond for the purpose of complying with the Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 270a(a). The payment bond was then filed with the FAA for approval. The contracting officer in charge of the project allegedly approved the sureties.

Westbay, as a subcontractor of Kardan, agreed to provide certain materials and services necessary to construct the Oakland Airport project. Westbay fully performed under this subcontract.

The FAA later terminated Kardan’s contract because Kardan failed to provide…