RULE 9 DEPOSITIONS a. When depositions may be taken.-After an appeal has been docketed by the Board, either party may take the testimony of any person by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories, for the purpose of discovery or for use as evidence in the appeal proceedings, or for both purposes. b. Before whom taken.-Depositions to be offered in evidence before the Board may be taken down and authenticated by any person authorized by the laws of the United States, or by the laws of the place where the deposition is taken, to administer oaths. c. Written interrogatories.-(1) A party desiring to take the deposition of any person upon written interrogatories shall serve them upon the opposite party with a notice stating the name and address of the person who is to answer them and the name or descriptive title and address of the person before whom the deposition is to be taken. Within 15 days thereafter the party so served may serve cross-interrogatories upon the party proposing to take the deposition. (2) A copy of the notice and copies of all interrogatories and crossinterrogatories served shall be delivered by the party taking the deposition to the person designated in the notice who should proceed promptly to take the testimony of the witness in response to the interrogatories an cross-interrogatories. d. Oral interrogatories.-When either party desires to take the testimony of any person by deposition upon oral examination, unless the parties stipulate as to the time and place the deposition is to be taken and the name of the person before whom it is to be taken and the name and address of the witness, such party shall give the opposite party at least 15 days written notice of the time and place such deposition will be taken and the name, address and official title of the person before whom it is proposed to take the desposition, and the name and address of the witness. If the party so served finds it impracticable to appear at the taking of the deposition, in person or by counsel, he shall promptly so notify the moving party who shall make available to him a copy of the evidence given at the deposition. Within 15 days after receipt of such copy, the party so served may serve cross-interrogatories upon the moving party. e. Objections. When notice of intention to take testimony by deposition upon written or oral interrogatories, or cross-interrogatories, is served, the party on whom such notice is served may within 10 days after such service notify the Board in writing of objections and the nature thereof. The Board will thereupon set a time for hearing to determine the extent to which the interrogatories will be permitted. f. Form and return of deposition.-Each deposition shall show the caption of the proceedings, the place and date of taking, the name of the witness, and the names of all persons present. The person taking the deposition shall certify on the deposition that the witness was duly sworn by him and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the witness, and shall enclose the original deposi tion and exhibits in a sealed packet with postage and other transportation prepaid and forward same to the Board. If a party upon whom notice to take a deposition has been served gives notice prior to the taking of such deposition that he will not be able to be present at the time and place set therefor, the person taking the deposition shall furnish a certified copy thereof to such party within 15 days of the date of taking. g. Introduction in evidence.-No testimony taken by deposition shall be considered as part of the evidence in the hearing of an appeal unless and until such testimony is offered and received in evidence at the hearing. It will not ordinarily be received in evidence if the deponent is present and can testify personally at the hearing. In such case it can, however, be utilized to contradict or impeach the testimony of deponent as a witness. If the opportunity to be heard has been waived and the case submitted pursuant to Rule 16, the deposition shall be deemed to be part of the record before the Board. RULE 10 DISCOVERY AND PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND THINGS FOR INSPECTION, COPYING, OR PHOTOGRAPHING a. Order to produce.-Upon motion of any party showing good cause therefor and upon notice to all other parties, the Board may (1) order any party to produce and permit the inspection and copying or photographing, by or on behalf of the moving party, of any designated documents, papers, books, accounts, letters, photographs, objects or tangible things, not privileged, which are in his or its possession, custody, or control and which constitute or contain evidence (including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of relevant facts) regarding any matter that is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the examining party or to the claim or defense of any other party; or (2) order any party to permit entry upon designated land or other property in his or its possession or control for the purpose of inspecting, measuring, surveying, or photographing the property or any designated object or operation thereon which is relevant as described in (1) above. b. Relation to admissible evidence.-It is not ground for objection to the motion that the evidence will be inadmissible at the hearing if the evidence sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. c. Scope of order.-The order shall specify the time, place, and manner of making the inspection and taking the copies and photographs and may prescribe such terms and conditions as are just. The Board may make an order that the inspection, copying, measuring, surveying, or photographing shall be limited to certain matters, or that secret processes, developments, or research need not be disclosed; or the Board may make any other order which justice requires to protect the party from annoyance, embarrassment, or oppression. RULE 11 INTERROGATORIES TO PARTIES After an appeal has been filed with the Board, a party may serve on the adverse party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership or association, by any officer or agent who shall furnish such information as is available to the party. The interrogatories shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath. The answers shall be signed by the person making them, and the party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers on the party submitting the interrogatories within 15 days after the service of the interrogatories, unless the Board in its discretion allows, or the parties stipulate to, a longer period of time. Within 10 days after service of interrogatories the party served, if he objects thereto, may notify the Board in writing of the objections and the nature thereof. The Board will thereupon set a time for hearing to determine the extent to which the interrogatories will be permitted. Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under Rule 9 (Depositions), and the answers may be used to the same extent as provided for the use of the deposition of a party. The number of interrogatories or of sets of interrogatories to be served shall not be limited except as the Board may require to protect a party from annoyance, expense, embarrassment, or oppression. RULE 12 ADMISSION OF FACTS AND OF GENUINENESS After an appeal has been filed with the Board, a party may serve upon any other party a written request for the admission by the latter of the genuineness of any relevant documents described in and exhibited with the request or of the truth of any relevant matters of fact set forth in the request. Each of the matters for which an admission is requested shall be deemed admitted unless, within a period designated in the request, not less than 10 days after service thereof, the party to whom the request is directed serves upon the party requesting the admission either (1) a sworn statement denying specifically the matters of which an admission is requested or setting forth in detail the reasons why he cannot truthfully admit or deny those matters or (2) written objections on the ground that some or all of the requested admissions are privileged or irrelevant or that the request is otherwise improper in whole or in part, together with a notice of hearing the objections at the earliest practicable time. If written objections to a part of the request are made, the remainder of the request shall be answered within the period designated in the request. A denial shall fairly meet the substance of the requested admission, and when good faith requires that a party deny only a part or a qualification of a matter of which an admission is requested, he shall specify so much of it as is true and deny only the remainder. RULE 13. PREHEARING CONFERENCES In any case the Board in its discretion, upon its own initiative or upon the application of one of the parties, may call upon the parties or their attorneys or representatives to appear before the Board or one or more members thereof for a conference to consider (1) The simplification of the issues: (2) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings; (3) The possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof; (4) The limitation of the number of expert witnesses; (5) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the appeal. The Board or the presiding member shall make an order which recites the action taken at the conference, the amendments allowed to the pleadings, and agreements made by the parties as to any matters considered. Such order may state and limit the issues to be heard or submitted to those not disposed of by admissions or agreements of counsel, and may, in the discretion of the Board, require the parties to submit, at least 30 days prior to hearing, pre-hearing briefs in any case to be heard pursuant to Rule 14. Such order may also require each party to submit a list identifying (1) each witness proposed to be called, (2) the general substance of the testimony to be offered by each witness, and (3) the nature of other evidence proposed to be offered. RULE 14 HEARINGS AND NATURE THEREOF a. Hearings, when requested.-The Appellant, or the Government, upon request, will be accorded a full and complete hearing, at which may be offered the testimony of witnesses, which witnesses shall be subject to cross-examination by the opposing party. A panel of three Members of the Board shall hear each case and be present at all proceedings, provided, however, that the temporary absence of one member of a panel during proceedings shall not impair the validity of such proceedings. Either the Chairman or the Vice Chairman shall be the presiding member of each panel and they shall rotate in that capacity on each successive hearing. The presiding member shall designate the two other members of the panel, and if a vacancy on any panel occurs during the hearing of a case it shall be filled by the Chairman of the Board (or during his absence or disability by the Vice Chairman) and the validity of any proceedings prior thereto or thereafter shall not be impaired as a result thereof. Hearings will be as informal as may be reasonably allowable and appropriate under all the circumstances; provided, that all hearings shall be reported under the supervision of the Chairman of the Board or other presiding Member, stenographically or by other means, by an official reporter who may be designated from time to time by the Chairman of the Board. The transcript prepared by the reporter shall be the sole official transcript of the hearing. Appellant and Government counsel may offer at a hearing on the merits such relevant and material evidence as they deem appropriate and as would be admissible under the generally accepted rules of evidence applied in the courts of the United States in nonjury trials; subject, however, to the exercise of reasonable discretion by the presiding member, concerning the extent, nature, and manner of presentation of such evidence. Letters or copies thereof, affidavits, or other evidence, not ordinarily admissible under the generally accepted rules of evidence, may be received in evidence upon stipulation or agreement of the parties or in the discretion of the presiding member. The weight to be attached to evidence presented in any particular form will be determined by the Board in the exercise of reasonable discretion under all the circumstances of the particular case. The parties may, by stipulation in writing filed with the Board, agree upon the facts or any portion thereof involved in the appeal, and the stipulation may be regarded and used in evidence at the hearing; the parties may also stipulate the testimony that would be given by a witness if the witness were present. The Board may, however, in such cases, require additional evidence. b. Conference in lieu of hearing.-Also, in the discretion of the Board, if neither side desires a hearing, either party upon request will be accorded a conference with one or more members of the panel designated to decide the appeal. The purpose of such conference is not to serve for introduction of new matter but to permit explanations and argument of matters of record. If any new matter is introduced at such a confernce by either party, consideration of the appeal will be deferred until the opposing party has been apprised thereof and has had an opportunity to reply. Both parties will be afforded the right to be present at any such conference. RULE 15 EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES Witnesses before the Board will be examined orally under oath or affirmation, unless the facts are stipulated or the Board shall otherwise order. If the testimony of a witness is not given under oath, the Board may warn the witness that his statements may be subject. to the provisions of title 18, United States Code, section 287 and 1001, and any other provisions of law imposing penalties for knowingly making false representations in connection with claims against the United States or in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency thereof. RULE 16 SUBMISSION WITHOUT A HEARING If either party does not wish to appear or be represented at a hearing, the Board shall be so advised. A party so advising the Board may submit a brief within 30 days after a transcript of the hearing shall have been rceived by the Board, or within such other period |