§ 113. — Appeals.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 41USC113]
TITLE 41--PUBLIC CONTRACTS
CHAPTER 2--TERMINATION OF WAR CONTRACTS
Sec. 113. Appeals
(a) Failure to settle claims by agreement; preparation of findings;
notice to war contractor
Whenever the contracting agency responsible for settling any
termination claim has not settled the claim by agreement or has so
settled only a part of the claim, (1) the contracting agency at any time
may determine the amount due on such claim or such unsettled part, and
prepare written findings indicating the basis of the determination, and
deliver a copy of such findings to the war contractor, or (2) if the
termination claim has been submitted in the manner and substantially the
form prescribed under this chapter, the contracting agency, upon written
demand by the war contractor for such findings, shall determine the
amount due on the claim or unsettled part and prepare and deliver such
findings to the war contractor within ninety days after the receipt by
the agency of such demand. In preparing such findings, the contracting
agency may require the war contractor to furnish such information and to
submit to such audits as may be reasonably necessary for that purpose.
Within thirty days after the delivery of any such findings, the
contracting agency shall pay to the war contractor at least 90 per
centum of the amount thereby determined to be due, after deducting the
amount of any outstanding interim financing applicable thereto.
(b) Rights of war contractor
Whenever any war contractor is aggrieved by the findings of a
contracting agency on his claim or part thereof or by its failure to
make such findings in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, he
may bring suit against the United States for such claim or such part
thereof, in the United States Court of Federal Claims or in a United
States district court, in accordance with sections 1346, 2401, and 2402
of title 28, except that, if the contracting agency is the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, or any corporation organized
pursuant to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, or any
corporation owned or controlled by the United States, the suit shall be
brought against such corporation in any court of competent jurisdiction
in accordance with existing law.
(c) Procedure
Any proceeding under subsection (b) of this section shall be
governed by the following conditions:
(1) When any contracting agency provides a procedure within the
agency for protest against such findings or for other appeal
therefrom by the war contractor, the war contractor, before
proceeding under subsection (b) of this section, (i) in his
discretion may resort to such procedure within the time specified in
his contract or, if no time is specified, within thirty days after
the delivery to him of the findings; and (ii) shall resort to such
procedure for protest or other appeal to the extent required by the
Administrator of General Services, but failure of the contracting
agency to act on any such required protest or appeal within thirty
days shall operate as a refusal by the agency to modify its
findings. Any revision of the findings by the contracting agency,
upon protest or appeal within the agency, shall be treated as the
findings of the agency for the purpose of appeal or suit under
subsection (b) of this section. Notwithstanding any contrary
provision in any war contract, no war contractor shall be required
to protest or appeal from such findings within the contracting
agency except in accordance with this paragraph.
(2) A war contractor may initiate proceedings in accordance with
subsection (b) of this section (i) within ninety days after delivery
to him of the findings by the contracting agency, or (ii) in case of
protests or appeal within the agency, within ninety days after the
determination of such protest or appeal, or (iii) in case of failure
to deliver such findings, within one year after his demand therefor.
If he does not initiate such proceedings within the time specified,
he shall be precluded thereafter from initiating any proceedings in
accordance with subsection (b) of this section, and the findings of
the contracting agency shall be final and conclusive, or if no
findings were made, he shall be deemed to have waived such
termination claim.
(3) Notwithstanding any contrary provision in any war contract,
the court shall not be bound by the findings of the contracting
agency, but shall treat such findings as prima facie correct, and
the burden shall be on the war contractor to establish that the
amount due on his claim or part thereof exceeds the amount allowed
by the findings of the contracting agency. Whenever the court finds
that the war contractor failed to negotiate in good faith with the
contracting agency for the settlement of his claim or part thereof
before appeal or suit thereon, or failed to furnish to the agency
any information reasonably requested by it regarding his termination
claim or part thereof, or failed to prosecute diligently any protest
or appeal required to be taken under subsection (c)(1)(ii) of this
section, the court (i) may refuse to receive in evidence any
information not submitted to the contracting agency; (ii) may deny
interest on the claim or part thereof for such period as it deems
proper; or (iii) may remand the case to the contracting agency for
further proceedings upon such terms as the court may prescribe.
Unless the case is remanded, the court shall enter the appropriate
award or judgment on the basis of the law and facts, and may
increase or decrease the amount allowed by the findings of the
contracting agency.
(4) Any such proceedings shall not affect the authority of the
contracting agency concerned to make a settlement of the termination
claim, or any part thereof, by agreement with the war contractor at
any time before such proceedings are concluded.
(d) Omitted
(e) Arbitration
The contracting agency responsible for settling any claim and the
war contractor asserting the claim, by agreement, may submit all or any
part of the termination claim to arbitration, without regard to the
amount in dispute. Such arbitration proceedings shall be governed by the
provisions of United States Arbitration Act to the same extent as if
authorized by an effective agreement in writing between the Government
and the war contractor. Any such arbitration award shall be final and
conclusive upon the United States to the same extent as a settlement
under subsection (c) of section 106 of this title, but shall not be
subject to approval by any settlement review board.
(f) Conclusiveness of decisions
Whenever any dispute exists between any war contractor and a
subcontractor regarding any termination claim, either of them, by
agreement with the other, may submit the dispute to a contracting agency
for mediation or arbitration whenever authorized by the agency or
required by the Administrator of General Services.
Any award or decision in such proceedings shall be final and
conclusive as to the parties so submitting any such dispute and shall
not be questioned by the United States in settling any related claim, in
the absence of fraud or collusion.
(July 1, 1944, ch. 358, Sec. 13, 58 Stat. 660; Ex. Ord. No. 9809,
Sec. 8, eff. Dec. 12, 1946, 11 F.R. 14281; 1947 Reorg. Plan No. 1,
Sec. 201, eff. July 1, 1947, 12 F.R. 4534, 61 Stat. 951; June 30, 1949,
ch. 288, title I, Sec. 102(b), 63 Stat. 380; July 14, 1952, ch. 739, 66
Stat. 627; Pub. L. 97-164, title I, Sec. 160(a)(14), Apr. 2, 1982, 96
Stat. 48; Pub. L. 102-572, title IX, Sec. 902(b)(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106
Stat. 4516.)
References in Text
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, referred to in subsec.
(b), is act Jan. 22, 1932, ch. 8, 47 Stat. 5, as amended, which was
classified to chapter 14 (Sec. 601 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and
Trade, and has been eliminated from the Code. For complete
classification of this Act prior to its elimination from the Code, see
Tables.
United States Arbitration Act, referred to in subsec. (e), is
classified generally to Title 9, Arbitration.
Codification
In subsec. (b), ``sections 1346, 2401, and 2402 of title 28''
substituted for ``subsection (20) of section 41 of title 28'' on
authority of act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 869, the first section
of which enacted Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Subsec. (d), which provided for appointment and duties of an Appeal
Board, was omitted on authority of act July 14, 1952, ch. 739, 66 Stat.
627, set out as a note below, which abolished the Appeal Board and
terminated all appeals, effective nine months after July 14, 1952.
References in other subsections of this section to the Appeal Board were
omitted in view of act July 14, 1952. As a result of these omissions,
cl. (1) of subsec. (b), which authorized a war contractor to appeal to
the Appeal Board, was deleted, and cl. (2), which permitted suits
against the United States, became a part of subsec. (b) without
numerical designation.
Amendments
1992--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102-572 substituted ``United States Court
of Federal Claims'' for ``United States Claims Court''.
1982--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97-164 substituted ``United States Claims
Court'' for ``Court of Claims''.
Effective Date of 1992 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 102-572 effective Oct. 29, 1992, see section
911 of Pub. L. 102-572, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28,
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97-164 effective Oct. 1, 1982, see section 402
of Pub. L. 97-164, set out as a note under section 171 of Title 28,
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Transfer of Functions
Functions of Secretary of the Treasury transferred to Administrator
of General Services by section 102(b) of act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, 63
Stat. 380, which was classified to section 752(b) of former Title 40,
Public Buildings, Property, and Works, and was repealed by Pub. L. 107-
217, Sec. 6(b), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1304.
``Secretary'' substituted for ``Director'' by section 8 of Ex. Ord.
No. 9809 and section 201 of Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1947, set out in the
Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Effective Date of Transfer of Functions
Transfer of functions by act June 30, 1949, effective July 1, 1949,
see section 605, formerly section 505, of act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, 63
Stat. 403; renumbered by act Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, Sec. 6(a), (b), 64
Stat. 583.
Abolition of Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1957, Sec. 6(a), eff. June 30, 1957, 22 F.R.
4633, 71 Stat. 647, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government
Organization and Employees, abolished Reconstruction Finance
Corporation.
Abolition of Appeals Board; Termination of Appeals; No Further Appeals
Accepted; Return of Erroneous Filed Appeals
Act July 14, 1952, ch. 739, 66 Stat. 627, provided: ``That the
Appeal Board established under section 13(d) of the Contract Settlement
Act of 1944 [41 U.S.C. 113(d)] is hereby abolished: Provided, however,
That said abolition shall not become effective until six months after
the enactment of this Act [July 14, 1952] or such later date, nor more
than nine months after the enactment of this Act, as may be fixed by
written order of the Director of Contract Settlement published in the
Federal Register. Such an order shall be made only in case the Director
finds that it is impracticable for the Appeal Board to dispose of its
pending business before the date fixed for abolition of the Board by
this Act or a previous order of the Director. No such order shall be
made less than thirty days prior to the date theretofore fixed for
abolition of the Appeal Board.
``Sec. 2. (a) Upon the effective date of the abolition of the Appeal
Board all appeals and disputes pending therein shall be terminated
without prejudice and the right of the parties to pursue such other
remedies as are provided by law shall not be affected thereby.
``(b) In any such terminated appeal, timely initiated in the Appeal
Board, where the period for pursuit of any other remedy pursuant to
section 13(b)(2) of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 [41 U.S.C.
113(b)(2)] shall have expired or would expire within sixty days after
the effective date of the abolition of the Appeal Board, the period
within which proceedings may be initiated in accordance with the said
section shall be extended to sixty days after said effective date.
``(c) Effective thirty days after the enactment of this Act [July
14, 1952] no further appeals or submitted disputes shall be accepted for
determination by said Appeal Board.
``(d) Where an attempt is erroneously made to file an appeal with
the Appeal Board after the time limited therefor by section 1(c) of this
Act but prior to the effective date of the abolition of the Appeal
Board, said Board shall forthwith return the papers to the person
therein named as appellant together with a notice in writing that,
pursuant to the terms of section 1(c) of this Act, it can no longer
accept such an appeal. Where such an attempt is made in good faith and
the appeal would, except for the provisions of section 1(c) of this Act,
have been timely and the period for pursuit of any other remedy pursuant
to section 13(b)(2) of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944 [41 U.S.C.
113(b)(2)] expires or would expire prior to the expiration of sixty days
after the receipt of such notice, the period within which proper
proceedings may be initiated in accordance with said section 13(b)(2)
shall be extended to sixty days after the receipt of such notice.''
Application to Terminated War Contracts
For application of this section to war contracts terminated at or
before July 21, 1944, see section 124 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 106, 117, 124 of this title.
