Southwest Marine, Inc. v. United States

OPINION AND ORDER

These actions were brought by plaintiff Southwest Marine, Inc. (“Southwest”) against defendant United States of America (“United States”), alleging breach of government procurement contracts. The United States moves to dismiss both lawsuits for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. For the reasons set forth herein, the United States’ motions to dismiss are granted.

I.

In 1992, Southwest entered into four contracts with the United States for repairs and enhancements to two ships, the M.V. CAPE GIBSON and the M.V. CAPE GIRAR-DEAU. Both are public vessels under federal law. The contracting agency in each case was the Maritime Administration, part of the Department of Transportation, acting through its general agent and ship manager, American President Lines. The contracting officer was Ken Taylor.

Southwest completed the work on both ships sometime in 1994. According to Southwest, the United States has failed to pay a total of approximately $12.6 million for work performed under the contracts. Southwest brought suit on April 21, 1995, seeking relief under the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (“CDA”), 41 U.S.C. §§ 601 et seq., which provides remedies for disputes…