Claim for Delay Compensation in Patent Infringement Judgment Against United States

A firm claimed delay compensation in connection with a judgment of the Court of Claims. GAO initially disallowed the claim and the firm sought reconsideration. The court entered a judgment in favor of the firm for $450,000 on August 6, 1976, and a check was issued to the firm on October 22, 1976. The firm claimed delay compensation at a rate of 7.5 percent for the time between those dates contending that this amount was part of the reasonable and entire compensation to which it was entitled. GAO held that a judgment against the United States for patent infringement may include interest as delay compensation, since infringement is viewed as a taking by eminent domain. However, since the determination of delay compensation is a judicial function, it may not be awarded administratively by GAO. It is payable only where it has been expressly awarded by the court. In this case, the court did not expressly award such compensation. In addition, since the judgment of the court was based on a compromise stipulation under which the plaintiff agreed to accept the stipulated sum as full a settlement, the terms of the judgment preclude the allowance of a claim for any additional amount as delay compensation. Accordingly, the disallowance of the claim was sustained.