DENIED:  January 28, 2014
CBCA 3410
CARLET B. MERRELL,
Appellant,
v.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,
Respondent.
Carlet B. Merrell, pro se, Dearborn Heights, MI.
Scott F. McCleary, Office of Regional Counsel, General Service Administration,
Chicago, IL, counsel for Respondent.
Before Board Judges DANIELS (Chairman), SOMERS, and McCANN.
McCANN, Board Judge.
Appellant contracted to purchase a vehicle from respondent at auction.  He claims that
the vehicle was misdescribed and refused to take possession of the vehicle.  He appeals the
final decision of the contracting officer that assessed him $325 in liquidated damages.  The
appeal is denied.
Facts 
1.  On May 8, 2013, appellant was awarded a 2007 Chrysler Sebring at a GSA internet
auction.  Appeal File, Exhibit 4.  The item information appearing on the website indicated
that “repairs may be needed.”  Id.  It also showed photographs of the vehicle.  Appellant did

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not inspect the vehicle prior to bid.  After the award, appellant did inspect the vehicle and
notified the contracting officer that he wanted a refund because there were “scratches and
damages” on the car that were not described in the item description or shown on the pictures.
The contracting officer refunded his money less liquidated damages in the amount of $325.
2.  The terms and conditions of the sale included the following paragraphs:
Photographs
Photographs may not depict an exact representation of the bid items(s) and
should not be relied upon in place of written item description or as a substitute
for physical inspection.  Please contact the custodian for inspection dates and
times.
Inspection of Property 
Bidders agree to physically inspect the property upon which they bid or
thereby waive the opportunity to conduct a physical inspection.  In waiving
their inspection rights, bidders bear the risk for any gross omissions regarding
the functionality of items, failures to cite major missing parts and/or restriction
with regards to usage that would have been revealed by physical inspection. 
Condition of Property
Condition of property is not warranted.  Deficiencies, when known, have been
indicated in the property descriptions.  However, absence of any indicated
deficiencies does not mean that none exists.  Therefore, the bidder should
ascertain the condition of the item through physical inspection.  Please also
reference the Inspection of Property clause. 
Description Warranty & Refunds
The Government warrants to the original purchaser that the property listed in
the GSAAuctions.gov website will conform to its written description.
Features, characteristics, deficiencies, etc. not addressed in the description are
excluded from this warranty.  GSA further cautions bidders that GSA’s written
description represents GSA’s best effort to describe the item based on the
information provided to it by the owning agency.  Therefore, gross omissions
regarding the functionality of items, failures to cite major missing parts and/or
restriction with regards to usage may occur.

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The Government does not warrant the merchantability of the property or its
purpose.  The purchaser is not entitled to any payment for loss of profit or any
other money damages - special, direct, indirect, or consequential.
Discussion
The purchaser has not demonstrated entitlement to relief.  The vehicle was not
misdescribed and the contract warranty did not cover “[F]eatures, characteristics,
deficiencies, etc. not addressed in the description.”  The contract further indicated that
“absence of any indicated deficiencies does not mean that none exists.”  Also, the description
on the website indicated that “repairs may be needed.”  The purchaser was encouraged to
inspect the vehicle prior to bid, but chose not to do so.  He must now suffer the consequences
of his inaction. 
Decision
The claim is DENIED. 
                                                 
R. ANTHONY McCANN
Board Judge
We concur:
                                                                                               
STEPHEN M. DANIELS JERI KAYLENE SOMERS
Board Judge Board Judge

CBCA 3410 4