Raven Industries, Inc., Appellant, v. Admiral Frank Kelso, Ii, Secretary of the Navy, Appellee, 62 F.3d 1433 (Fed. Cir. 1995)

Raven Industries, Inc. appeals the decision of the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals,¹  holding that the Board did not have jurisdiction of Raven's claims under the Contract Disputes Act because the specific amounts had not been resolved before their submission to the contracting officer. The Board relied on this court's decision in Dawco Construction, Inc. v. United States, 930 F.2d 872 (Fed. Cir. 1991), and the Board's application of Dawco Construction in deciding Reflectone, Inc., ASBCA No. 43081, 93-1 BCA p 25,512 (1992), aff'd on reconsid., Reflectone, Inc., ASBCA No. 43081, 93-3 BCA p 25,966 (1993). On appeal to this court, in Reflectone, Inc. v. United States, No. 93-1373 (Fed. Cir. July ___, 1995) the court, en banc, reversed the Board's holding and expressly overruled the holding of Dawco Construction that supported it. Thus it is clarified that the Board's jurisdiction did not depend on whether a sum certain had been asserted to the contracting officer.

At the time Raven submitted its claims to the contracting officer the dispute centered on the cause of and responsibility for the Navy's rejection of the cable lots, and whether they were properly rejected. Whether or not the exact amounts of the damages were stated at the time the claims were submitted to the contracting officer, a sum certain was stated in the appeals to the Board. It is not disputed that the claims were otherwise correctly presented. In accordance with our reconsideration decision in Reflectone, the Board's jurisdiction was properly invoked.

The Board's decision is reversed, and the case is remanded for reinstatement and consideration of the merits of Raven's appeals Nos. 44048 and 44049.