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US Law> US Code> TITLE 28A — JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE (APPENDIX)> RULES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

US RULES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

(Revised March 14, 1992, effective March 15, 1992, as amended to January 6, 2001)

General Order No. 1

General Order No. 1 of the United States Claims Court, October 7, 1982, provided that:

"The United States Claims Court inherits substantially all of the jurisdiction, caseload and grand tradition of the United States Court of Claims. To assure continuity in carrying out the business of the court, and to promote the interests of justice and service to the public, it is ordered as follows:

"(1) All published decisions of the United States Court of Claims are accepted as binding precedent for the United States Claims Court, unless and until modified by decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the United States Supreme Court.

"(2) Every order, decision and ruling entered by the trial or appellate divisions of the United States Court of Claims in cases now pending before the United States Claims Court is adopted in its entirety and will be given full force and effect, unless and until a judge of the United States Claims Court determines such order should be modified, amended or rescinded.

"(3) The United States Claims Court will be the custodian of all records of the United States Court of Claims.

"(4) The United States Claims Court will provide for the publication of all United States Court of Claims decisions which have been certified for publication in the United States Court of Claims Reporter."

General Order No. 3

IT IS ORDERED that the attached rules [set out below] are adopted as the Rules of the United States Claims Court effective October 1, 1982.

October 7, 1982

      By the Court
      Alex Kozinski
      Chief Judge

General Order No. 9

IT IS ORDERED this date that the attached rules [set out below] are adopted as the Rules of the United States Claims Court effective February 15, 1984.

January 27, 1984

      By the Court
      Alex Kozinski
      Chief Judge

General Order No. 11

IT IS ORDERED this date that the attached rules [set out below] are adopted as the Rules of the United States Claims Court effective November 1, 1985.

October 28, 1985

      By the Court
      Alex Kozinski
      Chief Judge

General Order No. 28

IT IS ORDERED this date that the attached rules [set out below] are adopted as the Rules of the United States Claims Court effective March 15, 1991.

March 14, 1991

      By the Court
      Loren A. Smith
      Chief Judge

General Order No. 31

IT IS ORDERED this date that the attached rules [set out below] are adopted as the Rules of the United States Claims Court effective March 15, 1992.

March 13, 1992

      By the Court
      Loren A. Smith
      Chief Judge

General Order No. 33

On October 29, 1992, the Federal Courts Administration Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 102-572, 106 Stat. 4506 (1992), became effective. Pursuant to Title IX, the United States Claims Court is renamed the United States Court of Federal Claims. For all purposes the new name may be substituted for the previous name. It shall have the identical legal consequences. All documents, motions, orders, forms, or other written instruments shall apply to the new name as they did to the previous name. From this date forward the new name shall be used in place of the United States Claims Court. The Clerk's Office, however, will not reject any filings or pleadings because of the use of the previous name.

IT IS ORDERED, as follows:

(1) All General Orders of the former United States Claims Court are fully applicable to the United States Court of Federal Claims.

(2) Decisions of the United States Court of Federal Claims will be published in the Federal Claims Reporter and cited as "Fed. Cl." Citations to decisions of the former United States Claims Court shall continue to be cited as decisions of the United States Claims Court ("Cl. Ct.").

(3) The Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims shall be abbreviated as "RCFC".

(4) All members in good standing of the bar of the United States Claims Court shall continue to be members of the bar of the United States Court of Federal Claims.

(5) Some of the rules do not conform to the statute. The statute will control if there is a conflict. The Court is drafting changes to the RCFC to conform the rules to the recent legislative changes. The court would welcome written comments regarding changes. All written comments should be addressed to: The Honorable John P. Wiese, Chairman, Rules Committee, 717 Madison Place, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.

In order to use resources efficiently, all paper stocks bearing the name "United States Claims Court" will be used until exhausted, except as change is needed.

December 4, 1992

      By the Court
      Loren A. Smith
      Chief Judge

Change of Name

References to United States Claims Court deemed to refer to United States Court of Federal Claims and references to Claims Court deemed to refer to Court of Federal Claims, see section 902(b) of Pub. L. 102-572, set out as a note under section 171 of this title.

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The rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims are based upon the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Fed. R. Civ. P. or the Federal Rules). For ease of reference to rulings in Federal Rules Decisions on comparable rules, chapter titles and rule numbers of the Court of Federal Claims rules follow closely the Fed. R. Civ. P. Amendments and additions to the Federal Rules have been made as required to give effect to the jurisdictional differences of the Court of Federal Claims. Federal Rules which are not applicable to the Court of Federal Claims have been omitted, and subdivisions of the Federal Rules that have not been used, either in amended or supplemented form, are so designated.

FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE OMITTED

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RULES OF THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS

The United States Claims Court was created by the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982 (Pub. L. No. 97-164, 96 Stat. 25 (1982)), and redesignated the United States Court of Federal Claims by the Federal Courts Administration Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-572, 106 Stat. 4516). It inherited substantially all of the jurisdiction formerly exercised by the United States Court of Claims. Section 139(b)(1) of the Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2503(b), authorizes the United States Court of Federal Claims to prescribe rules of practice and procedure for its proceedings.