George Hyman Const. Co. v. U.S., 87-1164
| Decision Date | 21 October 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-1164,87-1164 |
| Citation | 832 F.2d 574 |
| Parties | 34 Cont.Cas.Fed. (CCH) 75,378 GEORGE HYMAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, Appellant, v. The UNITED STATES, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
Andrew J. Reinhardt, of Sanders, Schnabel & Brandenburg, Washington, D.C., argued, for appellant. With him on the brief were Robert V. Schnabel and Andrew R. McCorkle, of Sanders, Schnabel & Brandenburg, Washington, D.C.
Frank B. Flink, Jr., of the Commercial Litigation Branch, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., argued, for appellee. With him on the brief, were Richard K. Willard, Asst. Atty. Gen., David M. Cohen, Director, and Mary Mitchelson, Asst. Director. Of counsel was Larry Harrington, of the General Services Administration, Denver, Colo.
Before DAVIS, Circuit Judge, SKELTON, Senior Circuit Judge, and NEWMAN, Circuit Judge.
This is a suit by the George Hyman Construction Company (appellant or Hyman) against the Government to recover $1,622,028 that it claims the Government owes it and its subcontractor, Dominion Caisson Corporation, on a contract awarded to Hyman on April 25, 1984, for foundation work for the construction of an expansion structure for the headquarters building of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia. All work other than caisson excavations was to be done by Hyman for the fixed price of $14,189,930. The caisson work was to be done for the following unit prices:
Caissons
Dia. Est. Quan. Price Per
(in.) (Lin. Ft.) Linear Foot
---------- ---------- -----------
72 800 $ 157.00
-----------
66 1370 $ 136.00
-----------
60 2250 $ 115.00
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46 700 $ 85.00
-----------
36 1200 $ 67.00
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CASINGS LEFT IN PLACE Est. Quan. Price per
(pounds) pound
75,000 $ 0.38
-----------
ROCK EXCAVATION Est. Quan. Price per
(CAISSONS ONLY) (cu. yds.) Cubic Yard
50 $ 1,200.00
-----------
Hyman based its bid for the caisson work on the bid to it for that work by Dominion Caisson Corporation, which became its caisson subcontractor. This appeal is brought by Hyman on behalf of Dominion. The subcontract was awarded to Dominion on August 14, 1984, at Dominion's unit prices and an estimated price of $415,000. The estimated price of the subcontract with Dominion is Dominion's unit prices multiplied by the estimated quantities in the solicitation. Dominion's unit price for rock excavation was lower than all but one of the seven bids to appellant by prospective excavation subcontractors. Aside from one of $2,700, they ranged from $800 to $1,650. Hyman's unit prices to the Government were substantially higher than Dominion's bid to Hyman. We refer to the acts of Dominion in this case as being those of Hyman. When we refer to Hyman, we also refer to Dominion where applicable.
Prior to the submission of bids, a Government consulting firm named Dames & Moore conducted a site investigation of the area where the work was to be done and prepared a report (the D & M report) dated August 23, 1983, and amended August 25, 1983, that was made a part of the specifications for the use of the bidders. The report covered the site surface and subsurface conditions, with a subsurface profile, which is described below, including rock corings, boring logs, recommendations for excavations and other data. Pertinent portions of this report are as follows:
REGIONAL
The CIA complex is located in the Virginia Piedmont, a physiographic province characterized by deformed bedrock, primarily of igneous and metamorphic origin. These crystalline rocks are composed of granite, schist, metasedimentary, metaigneous and metavolcanic rock types. The bedrock surface is somewhat irregular and usually covered by a thick zone of weathered residual material, called saprolite. Saprolite is a product of chemical weathering of the bedrock, displays the same structure as the rock, and may include zones of fairly solid rock. Almost the entire site is covered with between 10 and 50 feet of micaceous silty saprolite....
* * *
* * *
To characterize the engineering suitability of the site for the proposed expansion, [the] Dames & Moore [report] developed a generalized profile of subsurface materials which reflects the variable nature of saprolite. The profile consists of four idealized strata (Zones A through D) as discussed below.
ZONE A--Zone A is characterized as massive, or, in some instances, slightly structured saprolite and consists of residual soil that lacks clear definition of such visible primary rock features as foliation, jointing, and crystal structure. The massive saprolite is typically 10 to 15 feet thick. Zone A is thin or absent in some areas due to previous construction.
* * *
* * *
ZONE B--Zone B is characterized as structured saprolite and consists of materials with clearly visible indications of primary bedrock features. Zone B soils are typically mottled brown, light brown, orange-brown or gray-brown in color and consist mainly of sand, with some silt and trace quantities of clay. Coarse sand and gravel-size rock fragments also are present. Some samples also are micaceous.
ZONE C--Zone C forms a transition zone wherein the subsurface materials grade from the well-structured saprolite of Zone B to the relatively sound bedrock of Zone D. As in the soils of Zone B, the material which constitutes Zone C has the primary characteristics of the parent bedrock. The principal criterion used to establish the surface of Zone C was the increased resistance to penetration encountered by the soil sampler. Zone C is characterized as that material which is so dense that 100 blows or more are generally required to advance the standard split spoon or the Dames & Moore sampler a distance of 3 inches. This criterion is adequate to effectively delineate the workable saprolite, i.e., Zone A and Zone B, from the underlying and much less workable (i.e., more difficult excavation) saprolite of Zone C.
ZONE D--Zone D represents the relatively sound bedrock. During the field investigation, bedrock was generally considered to be that material which could not be effectively sampled with conventional soil samplers and required rock coring equipment. The bedrock, in addition, was considered to be relatively sound if the coring operation resulted in a recovery rate of approximately 70 percent. The elevation of the bedrock surface was extrapolated after a review of rock core samples.
In addition to the above surface and subsurface information of the site, the Dames & Moore report contained a number of comments and recommendations relative to the building foundations and caisson foundation excavations that are relevant to the case. Pertinent portions are as follows:
This proposed main building expansion will have relatively heavy foundation loadings and restrictions on allowable differential settlement. Additionally, the thickness of soil overlying relatively incompressible bedrock increases significantly from south to north across the expansion area. For these reasons, we are recommending that all foundations supporting major loads be extended to the Zone D bedrock underlying the site, principally for control of differential settlement.
* * *
* * *
Based on the results of our study, we believe that foundation support for the main building expansion can best be provided by a combination of drilled piers extending to sound bedrock and spread footings founded upon the sound bedrock where it occurs within a few feet of the proposed basement floor elevation. This system will provide positive settlement control, which we understand to be of prime concern, as well as high load-carrying capacity. However, it may be possible to accommodate in the structural design the higher settlements incurred with a less costly spread footing or mat foundation system. Design data for these systems are therefore also presented.
Pier Foundations--We recommend that drilled piers be founded on sound bedrock, identified as Zone D in the attached boring logs and subsurface profiles. Piers established on this material can be proportioned using an allowable bearing capacity of 30 tons per square foot.
* * *
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Sound bedrock that can develop the recommended bearing capacity is identified as Zone D in the attached boring logs and subsurface sections. Bedrock surface elevations are also summarized in Table A-1 in the appendix to this report.
* * *
* * *
Zone A and Zone B soils will have similar excavation characteristics. They can be removed without difficulty using conventional construction equipment such as backhoes and front-end loaders. The excavation characteristics of the Zone C transition material are expected to be variable, and generally more difficult than the upper zones. The upper boundary of Zone C soils as shown on the boring logs and subsurface sections is our best estimate based on the relatively small samples obtained from the exploration borings. Zone D excavation will require blasting, supplemented by specialized equipment such as a backhoe-mounted hydraulic impact breaker. Zone D material should be disposed of offsite. As the Zone C and D boundaries given on the boring logs (Plates A-1 through A-56) can be used by bidders for estimating purposes, we recommend that bidders prepare their own final quantity estimates and interpretations of excavating conditions.
(Emphasis Supplied).
We have quoted extensively from the D & M report,...
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