Campanella V. Commerce Exchange Bank

The plaintiffs, Robert P. Campanella and Robert P. Campanella & Associates, filed this suit against the Commerce Exchange Bank and the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), advancing six theories of recovery. The district court, in a magistrate-Judge adjudication pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), dismissed two contract claims for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and granted summary Judgement on the merits with respect to the remaining four claims. The plaintiffs filed this appeal, arguing that the district court erred in concluding (1) that the Contract Disputes Act of 1978, 41 U.S.C. § 601-613, divested it of subject-matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' contract claims; (2) that the defendants had no obligation to pay storage and brokerage expenses; and (3) that the defendants had no duty to Campanella to dispose of the property in a commercially reasonable manner and turn over the proceeds to Campanella as payment for administrative expenses.