checks from the Board, will be dated and signed by the responsible Award Liaison Officer/Technology Utilization Officer and returned to the Inventions and Contributions Board without delay.

(b) Not later than December 10 of each year, the responsible field installation official shall submit a report certifying that all award checks, which were issued and received by the field installation during the year, have been delivered to the proper NASA and NASA contractor employees. In the case of those checks that have not been delivered by December 10, the certification report will be accompanied by all undelivered checks and a brief explanation of the reasons for the failure to make delivery. This annual certification report is essential in order to assure that income and withholding tax totals for all awardees are correct and complete at the close of each calendar year.

§ 1240.206 Delegation of authority.

(a) The Associate Administrator for Management Operations is delegated authority to execute grants of awards for significant scientific or technical contributions not exceeding $1000 per contribution, when in accordance with the recommendation of the Inventions and Contributions Board and in conformity with applicable law and regulations.

(b) The Chairman of the Inventions and Contributions Board is delegated authority to execute grants of initial awards upon the decision to file for a patent application, and upon the decision to publish a NASA tech brief.

(c) No redelegation is authorized except by virtue of succession.

(d) The Chairman of the Inventions and Contributions Board shall insure that feedback is provided to the Administrator through official channels to keep him fully and currently informed of significant actions, problems, or other matters of substance related to the exercise of the authority delegated in this section.

1241.210 Prehearing or presubmission conference.

1241.211 Submission without a hearing. 1241.212 Optional small claims (expedited)

and accelerated procedures.

1241.212-1 Election to utilize small claims (expedited) and accelerated procedures. 1241.212-2 The small claims (expedited) procedure.

1241.212-3 The accelerated procedure. 1241.212-4 Motions for reconsideration in § 1241.212 cases. 1241.213 Settling the record. 1241.214 Discovery-depositions. 1241.215 Interrrogatories to parties, admission of facts, and production and inspection of documents.

1241.216 Service of papers other than subpoenas.

HEARINGS

1241.217 Where and when held.

1241.218 Notice of hearings.

1241.219 Unexcused absence of a party.

1241.220 Hearings: nature, examination of

Subpart 1241.1-General Procedures

AUTHORITY: 42 U.S.C. 2473(b)(1). SOURCE: 42 FR 42679, Aug. 24, 1977, unless otherwise noted.

§ 1241.10 Scope.

This subpart prescribed the procedures for the adjudication of appeals before the NASA Board of Contract Appeals (hereinafter referred to as "the Board") arising from NASA contracts.

PREFACE TO THE RULES

§ 1241.11 Authority and jurisdiction of the Board.

(a) The Board, constituted under the provisions of Subpart 1209.1 of this chapter, is authorized to hear, consider and determine appeals from decisions of contracting officers arising under contracts which contain provisions requiring the determination of appeals by the Administrator or his duly authorized representative or board. In addition, the Board may perform other quasi-judicial duties as assigned 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.

witnesses.

1241.221 Subpoenas.

1241.222 Copies of papers.

1241.223 Posthearing briefs.

1241.224 Transcript of proceedings.

1241.225 Withdrawal of exhibits.

(b) Under § 1209.102(b) of this chapter, the Board is granted the authority to issue its rules of procedure.

§ 1241.12 Location and organization of the Board.

(a) The Board is located in Washington, D.C., and its mailing address is The Board of Contract Appeals, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. 20546.

(b) The Board consists of a Chairman and two other members, all of whom shall be attorneys at law duly licensed by any state or the District of Columbia, and who have significant experience in Government procurement law. In general, the appeals are assigned to a panel of at least two members of the Board. If a panel of two members is unable to agree upon a decision, the Chairman may assign a third member to consider the appeal. The Chairman is designated as Chief Administrative Judge and the other Board members are designated as Administrative Judges.

§ 1241.13 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. In the consideration of an appeal should it appear that a claim is involved which is not cognizable under the terms of the contract, the Board may make findings of fact with respect to such a claim without expressing an opinion on the question of liability.

§ 1241.14 Board of Contract Appeals procedure.

(a) Rules. Appeals referred to the Board are handled in accordance with the rules of the Board.

(b) 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.

(c) Preliminary procedures. Preliminary procedures are available to encourage full disclosure of relevant and material facts, and to discourage unwarranted surprise.

(d) Time, computation, and extensions. (1) 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. These time limitations are similarly eligible for extension in appropriate circumstances, on good cause shown.

(2) 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.

(3) Requests for extensions of time from either party shall be mde in writing and stating good cause therefor.

PRELIMINARY PROCEDURES

§ 1241.101 Appeals, how taken.

Notice of an appeal must be in writing and the original, together with two copies, may 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 allowed by applicable provision of directive or law.

§ 1241.102 Notice of appeal, contents of.

A notice of appeal should indicate that an appeal is thereby intended and should identify the contract (by number), and the final decision of the contracting officer from which the appeal is taken. The notice of appeal should be signed personally by the appellant (the contractor making the apppeal), or by an officer of the appellant corporation or member of the appellant firm, or by the contractor's duly authorized representative or attorney. The complaint referred to in § 1241.106 may be filed with the notice of appeal, or the appellant may desig

nate the notice of appeal as a complaint, if it otherwise fulfills the requirements of a complaint.

§ 1241.103 Forwarding of appeals.

When a notice of appeal in any form has been received by the contracting officer, he shall endorse thereon the date of mailing (or date of receipt, if otherwise conveyed) and within 10 days shall forward said notice of appeal to the Board. Following receipt by the Board of the original notice of an appeal (whether through the contracting officer or otherwise), the contractor and contracting officer will be promptly advised of its receipt and the contractor will be furnished a copy of these rules.

§ 1241.104 Preparation, contents, organization, forwarding and status of appeal file.

(a) Duties of Contracting Officer. Within 30 days of receipt of an appeal, or advice that an appeal has been filed, the contracting officer shall assemble and transmit to the Board an appeal file consisting of all documents pertinent to the appeal, including:

(1) The decision and findings of fact from which appeal is taken;

(2) The contract including specifications and pertinent amendments, plans and drawings;

(3) All correspondence between the parties pertinent to the appeal, including the letter or letters of claim in response to which decision was issued;

(4) Transcripts of any testimony taken during the course of proceedings, and affidavits or statements of any witnesses on the matter in dispute made prior to the filing of the notice of appeal with the Board; and

(5) Any additional information considered pertinent.

Within the same time specified above, the contracting officer shall furnish the appellent a copy of each document he transmits to the Board, except those stated in § 1241.104(a)(2), as to which a list furnished appellant indicating specific contractual documents transmitted will suffice, and those stated in § 1241.104(d).

(b) Duties of the appellant. Within 30 days after receipt of a copy of the appeal file assembled by the contract

ing officer, the appellant shall supplement the same by transmitting to the Board any documents not contained therein which he considers pertinent to the appeal, and furnishing two copies of such documents to the Government trial attorney.

(c) Organization of the appeal file. Documents in the appeal file may be originals or legible fascimile or authenticated copies thereof, and shall be arranged in chronological order where practicable, numbered sequentially, tabbed and indexed to identify the contents of the file.

(d) Lengthy documents. The Board may waive the requirement of furnishing to the other party copies of bulky, lengthy, or out-of-size documents in the appeal file when a party has shown that doing so would impose an undue burden. At the time a party files with the Board a document as to which such a waiver has been granted, he shall notify the other party that the same or a copy is available for inspection at the offices of the Board or of the party filing same.

(e) Status of documents in appeal file. Documents contained in the appeal file are considered, without further action by the parties, as part of the record upon which the Board will render its decision, unless a party objects to the consideration of a particular document in advance of hearing or of settling the record in the event there is no hearing on the appeal. If objection to a document is made, the Board will rule upon its admissibility into the record as evidence in accordance with §§ 1241.113 and 1241.120.

§ 1241.105 Dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

Any motion addressed to the jurisdiction of the Board shall be promptly filed. Hearing on the motion shall be afforded on application of either party, unless the Board determines that its decision on the motion will be deferred pending hearing on both the merits and the motion. The Board shall have the right at any time and on its own motion to raise the issue of its jurisdiction to proceed with a particular case, and shall do so by an ap