Rule 15 Rule 16 Rule 18 When permitted. Orders on depositions. (3) Use as evidence. Interrogatories to parties, production and inspection of documents. (1) Interrogatories to parties. (2) Production and inspection of documents. Service of papers. Hearings. Rule 19 Rule 20 Rule 21 Rule 22 Remands from courts. Dismissal without prejudice. PREFACE TO RULES Jurisdiction for considering appeals. (a) Except as stated in (b) and (c) below, the General Services Administration Board of Contract Appeals (referred to herein as "the Board") shall consider and determine appeals from decisions of contracting officers and other officials of GSA arising under contracts which contain provisions requiring the determination of appeals by the head of an agency or his duly authorized representative or board, and as otherwise authorized by the Administrator. The Board has authority to determine appeals falling within the scope of its jurisdiction as fully and finally as might the Administrator himself. (b) The Administrator reserves the right to direct that the authority of the Board shall not be exercised where he may desire or be required to render a decision on a matter of dispute. In such instances, the Administrator may request the Board to submit findings and recommendations. (c) The authority of the Board does not apply to any matters arising from complaints originating under the Equal Opportunity clause in contracts. Organization and location of the Board. (a) The Board is located in Washington, D. C., and is a part of the staff of the Administrator. (b) The Board consists of a Chairman and six other members, all of whom shall be attorneys at law duly licensed by any State, Commonwealth, Territory, or the District of Columbia, in addition to clerical personnel. In general, the appeals are assigned to a panel of at least three members of the Board. The decision of a majority of the panel constitutes the decision of the Board. Decisions on questions of law. When an appeal is taken pursuant to a disputes clause in a contract which limits appeals to disputes concerning questions of fact, the Board may, in its discretion, hear, consider, and decide all questions of law necessary for the complete adjudication of the issue. Board of Contract Appeals procedure. (1) Rules. Appeals referred to the Board are handled in accordance with the rules of the Board. 24-115 - 73 - 8 (2) Administration and interpretation of rules. Emphasis is placed upon the sound administration of these rules in specific cases, because it is impracticable to articulate a rule to fit every possible circumstance which may be encountered. These rules will be interpreted so as to secure a just and inexpensive determination of appeals without unnecessary delay. (3) Preliminary procedures. Preliminary procedures are available to encourage full disclosure of relevant and material facts, and to discourage unwarranted surprise. (4) Time, computation, and extensions. (a) All time limitations specified for various procedural actions are computed as maximums, and are not to be fully exhausted if the action described can be accomplished in a lesser period. (b) Except as otherwise provided by law, in computing any period of time prescribed by these rules or by any order of the Board, the day of the event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included, but the last day of the period shall be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, in which event the period shall run to the end of the next business day. (c) Except for the period prescribed for filing Notices of Appeal and Requests for Reconsideration, an extension of time may be granted by the Board upon written motion by the requesting party stating good cause for such an extension. (5) Representation of parties. Reference to contractor, appellant, contracting officer, Government, and parties shall include respective representatives of the parties, provided that appropriate notices of appearance have been filed with the Board. An appellant may appear before the Board in person or may be represented by counsel or by any other duly authorized representative. RULES OF THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS 1. Notice of appeal. Notice of an appeal must be in writing and may be on GSA Form 2465, Notice of Appeal, and the original, together with two copies, addressed to the Administrator, shall be filed with the contracting officer from whose decision the appeal is taken. The notice of appeal must be mailed or otherwise filed within the time specified therefor in the contract or as allowed by applicable provision of directive or law. A notice of appeal, which may be on Form 2465, Notice of Appeal, should indicate that an appeal is thereby intended, should identify the decision and the date thereof, from which the appeal is taken and the GSA service or staff office cognizant of the dispute, and should furnish the number of the contract in dispute. The appeal should describe the nature of the dispute involved in the decision and the relief sought, the contract provisions involved, and any other additional information or comments relating to the dispute which are considered to be important. The notice of appeal should be signed personally by the appellant (the prime contractor making the appeal) or by an officer of the appellant corporation, or member of the appellant firm, or by the contractor's duly authorized representative or attorney. 3. Forwarding of appeals. When a notice of appeal is received by the contracting officer, he shall transmit, directly to the Administrator, the original of the notice of appeal, together with the original of the envelope in which the notice of appeal was received with the date of receipt stamped thereon, and any receipt from the appellant showing the date of receipt of the decision of the contracting officer, or shall furnish information as to the date when his decision was received by the appellant. When the Board receives the original or copy of a notice of appeal from a source other than the contracting officer, the contracting officer shall be advised promptly, given a copy of the notice, and shall be requested to follow the same procedure as if he had received the notice directly from the appellant. 4. Acknowledgment of appeal and distribution. After the Board receives a notice of appeal, it will promptly acknowledge receipt thereof to the appellant, who shall be furnished a copy of these rules. The Board simultaneously will transmit copies of appropriate documents to the contracting officer, the GSA Central Office service or staff office concerned, and the representative of the Office of General Counsel. |