Board. In any case where a pre-hearing brief is submitted, it shall be furnished so as to be received by the Board at least 15 days prior to the date set for hearing, and a copy shall simultaneously be furnished to the other party as previously arranged. 10. Pre-hearing or pre-submission conference.-When the case is to be submitted pursuant to Rule 11, or heard pursuant to Rules 17 through 25, the Board may upon its own initiative or upon the application of either party, call upon the parties to appear before a member of the Board for a conference to consider: (a) The simplification or clarification of the issues; (b) The possibility of obtaining stipulations, admissions, agreements on documents, understandings on matters already of record, or similar agreements which will avoid unnecessary proof; (c) The limitation of the number of expert witnesses, or avoidance of similar cumulative evidence, if the case is to be heard; (d) The possibility of agreement disposing of all or any of the issues in dispute; (e) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the appeal. The results of the conference shall be reduced to writing by the Board member in the presence of the parties, and this writing shall thereafter constitute part of the record. 11. Submission without a hearing.-Either party may elect to waive a hearing and to submit his case upon the Board record, as settled pursuant to Rule 13. In the event of such election to submit, the submission may be supplemented by oral argument (transcribed if requested), and/or by briefs, arranged in accordance with Rules 18 and 23. 12. Optional accelerated procedure. Should an appeal involve $10,000 in amount or less, it may at the option of appellant be processed under this rule. In the event of such election, an individual member of the Board designated by the Chairman for that purpose will undertake to issue a decision on the appeal on an expedited basis, without regard to its normal position on the docket. Under this accelerated procedure, the case will be further expedited if the parties elect to waive pleadings and/or elect to waive the hearing and submit on the record. Except as extraordinary circumstances should prevent it, the decision will be rendered within 30 days of settlement of the record. 13. Settling of the record. A case submitted on the record pursuant to Rule 11 shall be ready for decision when the parties are so notified by the Board. A case which is heard shall be ready for decision upon receipt of transcript, or upon receipt of briefs when briefs are to be submitted. At any time prior to the date that a case is ready for decision, either party, upon notice to the other, may supplement the record with documents and exhibits deemed relevant and material by the Board. The Board upon its own initiative may call upon either party, with appropriate notice to the other, for evidence deemed by it to be relevant and material. The weight to be attached to any evidence of record will rest within the sound discretion of the Board. Either party may at any stage of the proceedings, on notice to the other party, raise objection to material in the record or offered into the record, on the grounds of relevancy and materiality. The Board record shall consist of documentation described in Rule 4, and any additional material, pleadings, pre-hearing briefs, record of pre-hearing or pre-submission conferences, depositions, interrogatories, admissions, transcripts of hearing, hearing exhibits, and post-hearing briefs, as may thereafter be developed pursuant to these rules. This record will at all times be available for inspection by the parties at the office of the Board. In the interest of convenience, prior arrangements for inspection of the file should be made with the Recorder of the Board. Copies of material in the record may, if practicable, be furnished to appellant at the cost of reproduction. 14. Depositions.-(a) When Permitted-After an appeal has been docketed, the Board may, for good cause shown, order the taking of testimony of any person by deposition upon oral examination or written interrogatories before any officer authorized to administer oaths at the place of examination, for use as evidence or for purpose of discovery. The application for order shall specify whether the purpose of the deposition is discovery or for use as evidence. (b) Orders on Depositions-The time, place, and manner of taking depositions shall be governed by order of the Board, unless agreed to between the parties. (c) Use as 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 such hearing. It will not ordinarily be received in evidence if the deponent is present and can testify personally at the hearing. In such instance, however, the deposition may be used to contradict or impeach the testimony of the witness given at the hearing. In cases otherwise heard on the record, the Board may, on motion of either party and in its discretion, receive depositions as evidence in supplementation of that record. (d) Expenses-All expenses of taking the deposition of any person shall be borne by the party taking that deposition, except that the other party shall be entitled to copies of the transcript of the deposition only upon paying therefor. 15. Interrogatories to Parties; Inspection of Documents; Admission of Facts. For good cause shown, the Board may permit a party to serve written interrogatories upon the opposing party, order a party to produce and permit inspection and copying or photographing of designated documents relevant to the appeal, or permit the serving on the opposing party of a request for admission of facts. Such permission will be granted and orders entered as are consistent with the objective of securing just and inexpensive determination of appeals without unnecessary delay. 16. Service of papers. Service of papers in all proceedings pending before the Board may be made personally, or by mailing the same in a sealed envelope, registered, or certified, postage prepaid, addressed to the party upon whom service shall be made and the date of delivery as shown by return receipt shall be the date of service. Waiver of the service of any papers may be noted thereon or on a copy thereof or on a separate paper, signed by the parties and filed with the Board. HEARINGS 17. Where and when held.-Hearings will ordinarily be held in Washington, D.C., except that upon request reasonably made and upon good cause shown, the Board may in its discretion set the hearing at another location. Hearings will be scheduled at the discretion of the Board with due consideration to the regular order of appeals and other pertinent factors. On request or motion by either party and upon good cause shown, the Board may in its discretion advance a hearing. 18. Notice of hearings.—The parties shall be given at least 15 days notice of the time and place set for hearings. In scheduling hearings, the Board will give due regard to the desires of the parties, and to the requirement for just and inexpensive determination of appeals without unnecessary delay. Notices of hearing shall be promptly acknowledged by the parties. A party failing to acknowledge a notice of hearing shall be deemed to have submitted his case upon the Board record as provided in Rule 11. 19. Unexcused absence of a party. The unexcused absence of a party at the time and place set for hearing will not be occasion for delay. In the event of such absence, the hearing will proceed and the case will be regarded as submitted by the absent party as provided in Rule 11. 20. Nature of hearings.-Hearings shall be as informal as may be reasonable and appropriate under the circumstances. Appellant and respondent may offer at a hearing on the merits such relevant 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 sound discretion of the presiding member in supervising the extent and manner of presentation of such evidence. In general, admissibility will hinge on relevancy and materiality. Letters or copies thereof, affidavits, or other evidence not ordinarily admissible under the generally accepted rules of evidence, may be admitted in the discretion of the presiding member. The weight to be attached to evidence presented in any particular form will be within the discretion of the Board, taking into consideration all the circumstances of the particular case. Stipulations of fact agreed upon by the parties may be regarded and used as evidence at the hearing. The parties may stipulate the testimony that would be given by a witness if the witness were present. The Board may in any case require evidence in addition to that offered by the parties. 21. Examination of witnesses.-Witnesses before the Board will be examined orally under oath or affirmation, unless the facts are stipulated, or the Board member shall otherwise order. If the testimony of a witness is not given under oath the Board may, in the discretion of the presiding member, warn the witness that his statements may be subject to the provisions of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 287 and 1001, and 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. 22. Copies of papers. When books, records, papers, or documents have been received in evidence, a true copy thereof or of such part 24-115 O 733 thereof as may be material or relevant may be substituted therefor, during the hearing or at the conclusion thereof. 23. Post-hearing briefs.-Post-hearing briefs may be submitted upon such terms as may be agreed upon by the parties and the presiding member at the conclusion of the hearing. Ordinarily they will be simultaneous briefs, exchanged within 20 days after receipt of transcript. 24. Transcript of proceedings.-Testimony and argument at hearings shall be reported verbatim, unless the Board otherwise orders. Transcripts of the proceedings shall be supplied to the parties at such rates as may be fixed by contract between the Government and the reporter. If the proceedings are reported by an employee of the Government, the appellant may receive transcripts upon payment to the Government at the same rates as those set by contract between the Government and the independent reporter. 25. Withdrawal of exhibits.—After a decision has become final the Board may, upon request and after notice to the other party, in its discretion permit the withdrawal of original exhibits, or any part thereof, by the party entitled thereto. The substitution of true copies of exhibits or any part thereof may be required by the Board in its discretion as a condition of granting permission for such withdrawal. 26. The appellant.—An individual appellant may appear before the Board in person, a corporation by an officer thereof, a partnership or joint venture by a member thereof, or any of these by an attorneyat-law duly licensed in any State, Commonwealth, Territory, or in the District of Columbia. 27. The respondent.-Government counsel shall be designated to represent the interests of the Government before the Board. They shall file notices of appearance with the Board, and notice thereof will be given appellant or his attorney in the form specified by the Board from time to time. Whenever at any time it appears that appellant and Government counsel are in agreement as to disposition of the controversy, the Board may suspend further processing of the appeal in order to permit reconsideration by the contracting officer: Provided, however, That if the Board is advised thereafter by either party that the controversy has not been disposed of by agreement, the case shall be restored to the Board's calendar without loss of position. DECISIONS 28. Decisions of the Board will be made in writing and authenticated copies thereof will be forwarded simultaneously to both parties. The rules of the Board and all final orders and decisions (except those required for good cause to be held confidential and not cited as precedents) shall be open for public inspection at the office of the Board in Washington, D.C. In accordance with paragraph 3 of the Charter, decisions of the Board will be made upon the record, as described in Rule 13. MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION 29. A motion for reconsideration, if filed by either party shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds relied upon to sustain the motion, and shall be filed within 30 days from the date of the receipt of a copy of the decision of the Board by the party filing the motion. DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE 30. In certain cases, appeals docketed before the Board are required to be placed in a suspense status and the Board is unable to proceed with disposition thereof for reasons not within the control of the Board. In any such case where the suspension has continued, or it appears that it will continue, for an inordinate length of time, the Board may in its discretion dismiss such appeals from its docket without prejudice to their restoration when the cause of suspension has been removed. EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY 31. These revised rules shall take effect 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.' Except as otherwise directed by the Board and agreed to by the parties, these rules shall not apply to appeals which have been docketed prior to their effective date. 1 Published 15 March 1969, thereby establishing 14 May 1969 as the effective date. |