NASA MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION 5154.2, DATED FEBRUARY 28, 1969

February 28, 1969

c.

d.

e.

f.

NMI 5154.2

Discovery and Production of Documents and Tangible Things
for Inspection, Copving, or Photographing. Upon motion
of any party showing good cause therefor, and upon notice,
the Board may order the other party to produce and permit
the inspection and copying or photographing of any desig-
nated documents, papers, books, accounts, letters, photo-
graphs, objects or tangible things, not privileged, which
are reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of ad-
missible evidence. If the parties cannot themselves agree
thereon, the Board shall specify just terms and conditions
of making the inspection and taking the copies and photo-
graphs.

Admission of Facts and of Genuineness of Documents. A
party may make a written request for admission by the
other party of the genuineness of documents or of the truth
of facts. Each of the matters for which an admission is
requested shall be deemed admitted unless specifically
denied or objected to within 20 days after receipt of the
request, or as otherwise directed by the Board. Copies of
any such request and the response thereto shall be fur-
nished to the Board.

Orders for the Protection of Parties and Deponents. After
discovery proceedings have been initiated pursuant to this
paragraph, upon motion seasonably made by a party or by
the person to be examined and upon notice and for good
cause shown, the Board may make any order which justice
requires to protect the party or witness.

Refusal to Make Discovery. The Board, on its own motion
or upon the motion of a party, may enter such orders as
are just under the circumstances to ensure compliance with
this section. Such orders may include, but are not
limited to:

(1) An order that the matters regarding which the ques-
tions were asked, or the character or description of
the thing or land, or the contents of the paper, or
the physical or mental condition of the party, or
any other designated facts shall be taken to be es-
tablished for the purposes of the action in accordance
with the claim of the party obtaining the order;

(2)

An order refusing to allow the disobedient party to support or oppose designated claims or defenses, or prohibiting him from introducing in evidence designated documents or things or items of testimony, or from introducing evidence of physical or mental condition;

(3) An order striking out pleadings or parts thereof, or staying further proceedings until the order is

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NASA MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION 5154.2, DATED FEBRUARY 28, 1969

NMI 5154.2

15.

16.

February 28, 1969

obeyed, or dismissing the action or proceeding or any part thereof.

STIPULATIONS

The parties may stipulate in writing to any facts that are relevant and material to the issues involved, and to those documents or facts which may be received in evidence without formal proof.

PREHEARING CONFERENCE

a.

The Board, upon its own initiative or upon application of one of the parties, may direct the parties or their attorneys to appear before the Board or a member designated by the Chairman at a specified time and place for a conference to consider:

(1)

(2)

Simplification of the issues;

The possibility of obtaining stipulations as to admissions of fact and introduction of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof;

The limitation of the number of expert witnesses, if a hearing is to be held; and

(3)

(4)

Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the appeal.

17.

18.

19.

b.

The results of the conference shall be reduced to writing by the Board or the member designated by the Chairman and made part of the record.

SETTLEMENT

A dispute may be settled at any time by the contractor's filing
written notice withdrawing his appeal or by written stipulation
between the contractor and the Government counsel filed with
the Board settling either the entire dispute or any part there-
of. If only part of the dispute is settled, the appeal shall
continue as to any issues remaining in dispute.

FILING OF PAPERS

The parties shall file with the Board an original and two copies of all papers, subsequent to the petition and answer. Upon receipt thereof, the Board shall forward a copy to the opposing party.

HEARING

a.

The contractor may submit the case on the record or re-
quest a hearing.
The Board shall, at the request of

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NASA MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION 5154.2, DATED FEBRUARY 28, 1969

February 28, 1969

NMI 5154.2

either party within 15 days after the answer is filed,
grant a hearing. The parties shall be given at least a
15-day written notice of the time and place of hearing.
Ilearings will be held at NASA Headquarters, Washington,
D.C., unless otherwise ordered by the Board.

Hearings shall be as informal as may be reasonably allow-
able and appropriate under all the circumstances. Both
parties may offer oral and written evidence, subject to
the exclusion by the Chairman of any irrelevant, im-
material or repetitious evidence. The general procedure
as to the introduction of evidence and the calling of
witnesses shall be at the discretion of the Chairman.

Testimony shall be under oath or affirmation, unless the
facts are stipulated or the Chairman shall otherwise
order. Attention of witnesses shall be invited to the pro-
visions of 18 U.S.C. 1621 relating to false testimony under
oath. If the testimony of a witness is not given under
oath the Board shall invite the attention of the witness
to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 287 and 1001; Section 19
of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 (41 U.S.C. 119);
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.

The Board shall make provision for a verbatim transcript of the hearing.

After a decision has become final, the Board may, upon request and after notice to the other party, 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 at its discretion as a condition of granting permission for such withdrawal.

OPTIONAL ACCELERATED PROCEDURE

Should an appeal involve $5,000 in amount or less, it may at
the option of appellant be processed under this section. In
the event of such election, the Board 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. In all other respects, these rules will
apply.

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NASA MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION 5154.2, DATED FEBRUARY 28, 1969

February 28, 1969

NMI 5154.2

21.

22.

23.

24.

REPRESENTATION OF THE CONTRACTOR

An individual appellant may appear before the Board in person; a corporation may be represented by an officer thereof; a partnership or joint venture by a member thereof; or an organization may be represented by an attorney-at-law duly licensed in any State, Commonwealth, or in the District of Columbia. In special cases, the Board may authorize contractors to be represented by persons other than those mentioned.

DECISIONS

Decisions of the Board shall be made in writing and shall reflect the opinion of a majority of the members deciding the appeal. Copies of the decision shall be forwarded simultaneously to both parties. All final orders and decisions (except those required for good cause to be held confidential) shall be available for public inspection at the offices of the Board of Contract Appeals, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. 20546.

RECONSIDERATION

A request for reconsideration by the Board may be filed within 30 days after the date of the decision. Such request shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds relied upon to sustain the request.

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

No member of the Board shall consider an appeal if he has
participated in the award or administration of the contract in
question. There shall be no communication between a party or
other person having an interest in the outcome of the appeal
and a Board member or Board employee concerning the merits of
the appeal, unless such communication is also formally served
upon the other party (or parties) to the appeal, or is made
in their presence.

Emister Backett

Ernest W. Brackett
Chairman, Board of
Contract Appeals

ATTACHMENT A:

Format for Notice of Appeal

DISTRIBUTION

SDL 1

Published in the Federal Register under Title 14, Chap-
ter V, Subpart 1241.1 (34 F.R. 3613-3616, Feb. 28, 1969).

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NASA MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTION 5154.2, DATED FEBRUARY 28, 1969

February 28, 1969

FORMAT FOR NOTICE OF APPEAL

ATTACHMENT A
NMI 5154.2

The following is a suggested format for notice of appeal:

The undersigned contractor appeals to the NASA Board of Contract Appeals from the decision or findings of fact dated--

(Name of Contracting Officer)

by

The decision or findings of fact are erroneous because: (State specific facts and circumstances and the contractual provisions involved. Use additional pages as necessary.)

(Signature)

(Title)

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