Tripoli Mgmt. LLC v. Waste Connections of Kan. Inc.
| Decision Date | 18 July 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 10-1062-SAC,10-1062-SAC |
| Parties | TRIPOLI MANAGEMENT, LLC, d/b/a DWIRE EARTHMOVING AND EXCAVATING, INC., Plaintiff, v. WASTE CONNECTIONS OF KANSAS, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
This case is primarily a contract dispute over the construction of a landfill cell in Harper County, Kansas. This order will address the following motions that are fully briefed and ripe for decision: Defendant Waste Connections of Kansas, ("WCK") Inc.'s motion for partial summary judgment on liability against certain claims asserted by the Plaintiff Tripoli Management, LLC d/b/a Dwire Earthmoving and Excavating ("Dwire") (Dk. 55); Dwire's motion to sever WCK's counterclaims in negligence (Dk. 67); WCK's motion for partial summary judgment on its counterclaims (Dk. 96); and Dwire's motion for partial summary judgment on WCK's counterclaim in negligence (Dk. 98).
Summary Judgment Standards
Rule 56 authorizes judgment without trial "if the pleadings, thediscovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2). Substantive law governs the elements of a given claim or defense and reveals what issues are to be determined and what facts are material. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). A material fact is one which would affect the outcome of the claim or defense under the governing law. Id. If the movant would not have the burden of proof at trial on the particular claim or defense, then the motion must point to the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Instead of disproving a claim or defense, the movant need only show "a lack of evidence" on an essential element. Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 671 (10th Cir. 1998). To counter a "properly made" motion, the non-movant must come forward with specific facts based on admissible evidence. Id. The non-movant must show more than some "metaphysical doubt" based on "evidence" and not "speculation, conjecture or surmise." Matsushita Elec. Indust. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986); Bones v. Honeywell Intern., 366 F.3d 869, 875 (10th Cir. 2004). "[T]he dispute about a material fact is 'genuine,' . . ., if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248.
In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the nonmovingparty's evidence "is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in [that party's] favor." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255. Facts and reasonable inferences therefrom are to be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. MacKenzie v. City & County of Denver, 414 F.3d 1266, 1273 (10th Cir.2005). At this stage, "[c]redibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge . . . . " Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. However, "[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no 'genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587. See Pinkerton v. Colorado Dept. of Transp., 563 F.3d 1052, 1058 (10th Cir.2009).
WCK'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON LIABILITY ON CERTAIN CLAIMS BY DWIRE (Dk. 55)
Dwire asserts claims for costs allegedly due under the contract for work done. These claims are of three kinds: (1) additional costs for hauling more excavated material a longer distance, (2) compensation for additional quantities of material actually excavated, and (3) "time and material" billing for removal of water and mud from excavation site and for extra "rain flap" work. The following are the uncontroverted facts relevant to the summary judgment issues raised against these claims.
WCK solicited bids for excavation of a new disposal cell ("Cell 5C") at its Plumb Thicket Landfill in Harper, Kansas. On February 6, 2009,bidders attended a mandatory pre-bid meeting and site visit of the landfill. Dwire, an earthmoving and excavating company located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a bidder. Approximately a year earlier, Dwire contracted for and performed excavation work on a landfill in Pueblo, Colorado, for Waste Connections of Colorado. Dwire worked on this Colorado project with Brian Karp, the Central Region Engineer for Waste Connections, Inc.. Brian Karp served in an administrative capacity on WCK's project at Plumb Thicket.
On February 19, 2009, Dwire emailed Brian Karp about the Plumb Thicket bid asking in part: "Is there a limit to the height or size of the overburden stockpile, or any other stockpile for this job?" (Dk. 56, Ex. 16). Karp replied to this inquiry with an email addressed to all bidders: Id. Dwire relied on this information in preparing its bid with lower hauling costs.
Dwire successfully bid on the project. Before executing the contract, Dwire received from Aquaterra Environmental Solutions, Inc. ("Aquaterra"), the "Engineer" identified in the contract, a complete copy of the Project Manual that included: "the Scope of Work, the Technical Specifications, the draft Contract, General Conditions associated with theproject, the Supplemental Conditions associated with the project, and Construction Drawings for the project." (Dk. 56, p. 4).
Dwire's work at the site began March 8, 2009. Within days, WCK directed Dwire to stop unloading excavated soil in the draw immediately to the west of the excavation site and to take the material instead a longer distance from the site to a stockpile. In order to meet this demand and maintain its targeted work schedule, Dwire had to make longer trips and cycle times for unloading the excavated material and had to increase the number of its haul units. So five days after starting work, Dwire submitted to WCK a request for a change order caused by a "change in conditions due to export placement." (Dk. 56, Ex. 6). The request explained:
Prior to bid, we were directed to export most of the cell material to the draw to the West of the cell, and take the remaining material to the stockpile location. Filling the draws provided a cheap, quick, downhill haul method of placing the exported material. If the draws are not available to receive the fill, the majority of the export material will have to go to the stockpile location. To maintain production and schedule we will need to add 3 haul units and a full time D-9 to be able to work in a restricted area, and complete an uphill haul. We consider this a change in conditions and are requesting an additional $.63 per cy for item #4, and an additional $16,622.00 to mobilize 3 haul units.
Id. The change order's total request was $178,273.70. Dwire did not notify the contract's engineer, Aquaterra, of this asserted change in conditions or make a request for action from it. Acting on behalf of WCK, Brian Karpdenied the change order request. Despite the denial, Dwire continued the excavation work hauling the excavated material a longer distance. Dwire communicated with Karp about the distance and additional costs, and Karp said he would try to shorten the hauling routes and find closer locations for unloading. Dwire submitted its first application for payment dated March 25, 2009, requesting a payment due of $493,837.31. This application did not include or mention any change orders.
With regard to excavation quantities, Dwire exchanged emails with Karp between April 20 and 22 about the differences in quantities between what Dwire had actually excavated and what it had bid. Additional emails exchanged on April 23 discuss survey data provided to Dwire that its takeoff to be less than the quantities Dwire estimated in the contract. Later on the afternoon of April 23, Dwire submitted its third pay application to Aquaterra that calculated excavation quantities "based on surveys as verified by . . . load counts." (Dk. 56, Ex. 10 at p. 1). The email requested that, "[i]n the event your preliminary determination yields a number different from that which we have proposed, pursuant to paragraph 9.07, we request that you review with us your preliminary determination of any quantity so that we may obtain a timely decision, processing, and approval of our payment application #3." Id. This pay application requested payment on a "change order #4" for an additional 39,716 cu. yards of excavated material.Id. at p. 5. WCK denied this attempted change order. With regards to this pay application, Matt Crockett, the Project Manager for Aquaterra, emailed Dwire noting that the Engineer lacked authority to approve change orders and that:
Second, as stated in the Scope of Work, Measurement and Payment Section, payment shall be based on completed excavation cubic yards substantiated by survey data. I have requested the Subgrade Certification Survey that was completed by Garber to compare with the Preconstruction survey to verify the quantities. I will not receive the survey until Monday.
On the subject of leachate, Dwire emailed Glenn Swaggart of Weaver Boos Consultants, LLC ("Weaver Boos") on or about May 19, 2009. WCK had retained Weaver Boos as the Construction Quality Assurance engineer for the project. Dwire's email notified Swaggart that water was coming into the work area and it could be leachate coming from the existing liner or ground water. Swaggart replied with an email expressing that he understood leachate had "been allowed to leak into the new cell area," that he believed the leachate was caused by Dwire's construction methods around the rain flap and liner, and that...
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