Acme Process Equipment Co. v. United States

Plaintiff’s first experience as a defense contractor was to bid on and win two negotiated Ordnance Corps contracts, both of which soured into litigation.2 In January 1953, Army Ordnance awarded a contract for the manufacture of 75 mm. recoilless rifles. This project was largely subcontracted, leaving for Acme only the final finishing and assembly of components, and the earlier job of fashioning the rifle barrels from rough forgings with machines furnished *332by the Government under a separate facilities contract. From the start, Acme was beset by serious production delays due to a combination of…