§ 6101.4 - Appeal file [Rule 4].

6101.4 Appeal file [Rule 4].

(a) Submission to the Board by the respondentFiling. Within 30 calendar days from receipt of after receiving the Board's docketing notice or within such time as the Board may allow, the respondent shall file with the Board appeal file exhibits consisting of and serve all documents and other tangible things relevant to the claim and to the contracting officer's decision which has been appealed. Exhibits will be numbered as required by 6101.4(b) [Rule 4(b)] and will include, if anyappeal, including:

(1) The contracting officer's decision from which the appeal is takenon the claim;

(2) The contract, including all pertinent specifications, amendments, specifications, plans, and drawingsdrawings, and incorporated proposals or parts thereof;

(3) All correspondence between the parties that is relevant to the appeal, including the written claim or claims that are the subject of the appeal, and evidence of their ;

(4) The claim with any certification;

(

4) Affidavits or statements of any witnesses concerning the matter in dispute and transcripts of any

5) Relevant affidavits, witness statements, or transcripts of testimony taken before the

filing of the notice of

appeal;

(

5

6) All documents

and other tangible things on which

relied on by the contracting officer

relied in making the decision, and any related correspondence;

(6) The abstract of bids, if relevant; and

(7) Any additional existing evidence or information necessary to determine the merits of the appeal, such as internal memoranda and notes to the file.

(b) Organization of the appeal file. Appeal file exhibits may be originals or true, legible, and complete copies. They shall be arranged in chronological order, earliest documents first; bound in a loose-leaf binder on the left margin except where size or shape makes such binding impracticable; numbered; tabbed; and indexed. The loose-leaf binders cannot exceed four inches in depth. The numbering shall be consecutive, in whole Arabic numerals (no letters, decimals, or fractions), and continuous from one submission to the next, so that the complete file, after all submissions, will consist

to decide the claim; and

(7) Relevant internal memoranda, reports, and notes.

(b) Organization of electronic appeal file.

(1) Unless otherwise ordered, parties shall file the appeal file and supplements thereto in an electronic storage medium (e.g., hard disk or solid state drive, compact disc (CD), or digital versatile disc (DVD)), labeled with the docket number, case name, and range of exhibit numbers.

(2) A party may efile an appeal file or a supplement thereto by permission of the Board.

(3) Appeal file exhibits shall be in .pdf format or will be rejected. The appeal file index and each exhibit shall be separate documents, without embedded documents.

(4) Appeal file exhibits shall be complete, legible, arranged in chronological order, numbered, and indexed. Parties shall avoid filing duplicative exhibits and shall number exhibits continuously and consecutively from one filing to the next, so that a complete appeal file consists of one set of consecutively numbered exhibits.

In addition,

(5) Parties shall number the pages

within

of each exhibit

containing more than three pages shall be numbered consecutively unless the exhibit already is paginated in a logical manner. Consecutive pagination of the entire file is not required. The index shall include the date and a brief description of each exhibit and shall identify which exhibits, if any, have been filed with the Board in camera or under protective order or otherwise have not been served on the other party.

(c) Service. The respondent shall serve a copy of the appeal file on the appellant at the same time that the respondent files it with the Board, except that the respondent need not serve on the appellant those documents furnished the Board in camera pursuant to 6101.9(c) (Rule 9(c)), and the respondent shall serve documents submitted under protective order only on those individuals who have been granted access to such documents by the Board. However, the respondent must serve on the appellant a list identifying the specific documents filed in camera or under protective order with the Board, giving sufficient details necessary for their recognition. This list must also be filed with the Board as an exhibit to the appeal file.

(d) Submission to the Board by the appellant. Within 30 calendar days after the respondent files its appeal file exhibits, or within such time as the Board may allow, the appellant shall file with the Board for inclusion in the appeal file documents or other tangible things relevant to the appeal that have not been submitted by the respondent. The appellant shall serve a copy of its additional exhibits upon the respondent at the same time as it files them with the Board, and shall organize the file as required by 6101.4(b) (Rule 4(b)).

(e) Submissions on order of the Board. The Board may, at any time during the pendency of the appeal, require any party to file other documents and tangible things as additional exhibits. The Board may also require a party to file either copies of electronically stored information or printed versions of electronically stored information.

(f) Lengthy or bulky materials. The Board may waive the requirement to furnish the other party copies or duplicates of bulky, lengthy, or outsized materials submitted to the Board as exhibits if furnishing copies would impose an undue burden, so long as the materials are available to the opposing party for inspection.

(g) Use of appeal file as evidence. All exhibits in the appeal file, except for those as to which an objection has been sustained, are part of the evidentiary record upon which the Board will render its decision. Unless otherwise ordered by the Board, objection to any exhibit may be made at any time before the first witness is sworn or, if the appeal is submitted on the record without a hearing pursuant to 6101.19 [Rule 19], at any time prior to or concurrent with the first record submission. The Board may shorten or enlarge the time for such objections and will consider an objection made during a hearing if the ground for objection could not reasonably have been earlier known to the objecting party. If an objection is sustained, the Board will so note in the record.

(h) When appeal file not required. Upon motion of a party, the Board may postpone or dispense with the submission of any or all appeal file exhibits.

[72 FR 36795, July 5, 2007, as amended at 73 FR 26950, May 12, 2008]

consecutively, unless an exhibit is already paginated in another logical manner.

(6) The appeal file index shall describe each exhibit by date and content.

(7) Parties may file documents in camera only by permission of the Board.

(c) Organization of paper appeal file.

(1) Appeal files and supplements thereto may be filed on paper only by permission of the Board.

(2) Appeal file exhibits shall be complete, legible, arranged in chronological order, tabbed, and indexed. Parties shall avoid filing duplicative exhibits and shall number exhibits continuously and consecutively from one filing to the next, so a complete appeal file consists of one set of consecutively tabbed exhibits.

(3) Parties shall number the pages of each paper exhibit consecutively, unless an exhibit is already paginated in another logical manner.

(4) Parties shall file exhibits in 3-ring binders with spines no wider than 3 inches, labeled on the cover and spine with the name of the appeal, CBCA number, and tab numbers in each binder. Include in each binder the index of the entire filing.

(5) The appeal file index shall describe each exhibit by date and content.

(6) Parties shall separately file and index documents submitted in camera or under a protective order. However, documents may be submitted in camera only by permission of the Board.

(d) Supplements. Within 30 days after the respondent files the appeal file, the appellant may file non-duplicative documents relevant to the claim, organized as instructed in Rule 4(b) or (c) (paragraph (b) or (c) of this section), starting with the next available exhibit number.

(e) Classified or protected material. Neither classified nor protected material may be efiled.

(f) Submission by order. The Board may order a party to supplement the appeal file, including by filing an exhibit in another format.

(g) Status of exhibits. The Board considers appeal file exhibits part of the record for decision under Rule 9(a) unless a party objects to an exhibit within the time set by the Board and the Board sustains the objection.

(h) Other procedures. The Board may postpone or waive the filing of an appeal file.