Boeing, GD Plan Supreme Court Appeal On A-12
By ANTONIE BOESSENKOOL
Published: 24 Nov 2009 18:45
General Dynamics and Boeing said Tuesday they plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review a June decision on the U.S. government's termination of a contract to build A-12 aircraft.
The dispute over the canceled contract for McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics to build the jet fighter for the U.S. Navy has dragged on for nearly two decades, through Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell Douglas in 1997. In 1991, the Navy canceled the $4 billion contract for being over-budget and behind schedule, according to the Justice Department. In June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Boeing and General Dynamics must pay the government $2.8 billion top settle the dispute.
On Tuesday, the court refused to rehear an appeal from the two companies to review the June decision. Now General Dynamics and Boeing plan to take their case to the Supreme Court.
"General Dynamics disagrees with this most recent decision and continues to believe that the government's default termination was not justified," the defense contractor said in a news release Tuesday. "The company also believes that the ruling provides significant grounds for appeal, and intends to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for review."
"We are disappointed in today's decision," said Boeing Executive Vice President and General Counsel J. Michael Luttig. "The Court of Appeals' decision is clearly wrong as a matter of law and it has broad implications for all forms of government contracting nationwide. As a consequence, I have directed that an immediate appeal be taken to the Supreme Court of the United States."
Boeing said the issue is the way the Pentagon ended the program and whether the government owed McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics money for work in progress when it ended the contract.
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