John C. Grimberg Company, Inc. v. United States

The United States Navy (defendant) solicited bids for a construction contract at a naval center in Maryland. The contract work involved the fabrication and installation of exterior precast concrete wall panels. John C. Grimberg Company, Inc. (Grimberg) (plaintiff) submitted a bid and was awarded the contract. Before Grimberg submitted its bid, Grimberg obtained a quote for the fabrication and installation of the required concrete panels from Arban & Carosi (A&C), a domestic subcontractor, for $245,000, $165,000 of which was for materials. Grimberg’s successful bid was based on A&C’s quote. After obtaining the contract award, Grimberg called A&C multiple times but was unable to secure a subcontract with A&C. Grimberg never attempted written communication with A&C. After failing to secure a subcontract with A&C, Grimberg solicited quotes from two other domestic subcontractors, both of which were substantially higher than A&C’s quote. Grimberg then entered into a subcontract with Beer Precast Concrete, Limited (BPC), a Canadian company, for $237,000, $120,000 of which was for materials. However, the Navy rejected BPC’s panels, stating that using BPC, a Canadian fabricator, would violate the Buy-American Act (BAA). Grimberg requested a BAA waiver and was denied. Grimberg ultimately obtained the panels from a domestic supplier for a final materials cost of $200,000. Grimberg submitted a request for a post-award BAA waiver and equitable adjustment. The Navy denied Grimberg’s request. On appeal, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (Board) affirmed the denial, holding that Grimberg was not entitled to a BAA waiver because the cost of fabricating and installing the concrete panels using domestic suppliers was not unreasonable. Grimberg appealed.