ARMED SERVICES BOARD OF CONTRACT APPEALS 

Appeal of -- ) 

) 

Smart Construction & Engineering Co. ) ASBCA No. 59354 

) 

Under Contract No. W91B4L-10-P-0959 ) 

APPEARANCE FOR THE APPELLANT: Tracey Grooms 

APPEARANCES FOR THE GOVERNMENT: Raymond M. Saunders, Esq. 

Army Chief Trial Attorney 

MAJ Cameron R. Edlefsen, JA 

Trial Attorney 

OPINION BY ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE MCILMAIL 

REGARDING ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE, AND 

REGARDING GOVERNMENT'S MOTIONS TO DISMISS 

INTRODUCTION 

The government has filed motions to dismiss the appeal for lack of standing, 

and for lack of jurisdiction. Appellant, Smart Construction & Engineering Co. (SCE), 

opposes the motion to dismiss for lack of standing, but has not responded to the 

motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. We grant the former motion and dismiss the 

appeal, without prejudice. We dismiss the motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction as 

moot. 

FINDINGS OF FACT 

On 5 June 2014, a "Tracey Grooms" filed with the Board the notice of this 

appeal. The appeal is from a 4 June 2014 contracting officer's denial of a request for 

payment of$189,822.08 pursuant to Contract No. W91B4L-10-P-0959 (notice of 

appeal, attachs. 2-3). The request was accompanied by a "Claim Certification" signed 

by "Manager, TRACEY GROOMS" (id., attach. 4). 

On 17 June 2014, the government moved to dismiss the appeal without 

prejudice for "lack of standing," citing former Board Rule 26 (now Board Rule 15(a)) 

regarding the representation of an appellant, contending that Tracey Grooms was not a 

corporate officer or employee of appellant. We regard the motion as challenging not 

standing, but whether appellant's representative meets the requirements of Board 

Rule 15. 
Exhibit 2 to the motion is the 17 June 2014 declaration of Fahd A.R. Soufan, 

who declares under penalty of perjury, under a caption referencing both ASBCA 

No. 59354 and Contract No. W91B4L-10-P-0959, that he is the Chief Executive 

Officer and owner of SCE, and that: 

It came to my attention that a former employee, 

Mr. Tracey Grooms, filed an appeal under Contract 

No. W91B4L-10-P-0959 with the Armed Services Board 

of Contract Appeals (Board). When Mr. Grooms was an 

employee of SCE, Ms. Grooms served as a site or project 

manager. His duty position required him to win and fulfill 

contracts only. SCE has not employed Ms. Grooms since 

August 2010. Mr. Grooms is neither an employee nor an 

officer of SCE and does not represent SCE in any . * capacity. 

Mr. Soufan also declares that: 

SCE has never filed a claim against the United States 

Government for the above referenced contract. Moreover, 

no SCE officer or attorney appears before the Board on 

this appeal in accordance with ASBCA Rule 26. 

On 27 August 2014, the Board received a letter from a Trisan Salem Mohamed, 

who stated that he is appellant's owner and that he authorized Tracey Grooms to 

''work with" the Board on the appeal. On 8 September 2014, the Board received 

another letter from Mr. Mohamed, stating that "Mrs. Tracey Grooms is the corporate 

officer in this company and she is fully authorized to represent our company in this 

case, we are submitting this letter according to Rule 15(a)." 

On 31 October 2014, the government filed its reply upon its motion to dismiss 

for lack of standing. Exhibit 7 to the reply is the 7 October 2014 declaration of 

Tracy Grooms, who declares that he (1) worked for appellant from January 2010 to 

July 2010; (2) did not create the 5 June 2014 notice of appeal; and (3) did not sign a 

claim certification. Although the Board ordered that, by 10 December 2014, appellant 

file a surreply to the government's reply brief that addressed the declaration of 

Tracy Grooms, appellant has not filed any such surreply nor has it addressed the 

declaration of Mr. Grooms. We find the uncontested declaration of Mr. Grooms and 

the declaration of Mr. Soufan credible and not contradicted by any evidence of 

comparable weight. Those declarations demonstrate, and we so find, that neither 

Tracey Grooms nor Tracy Grooms is a corporate officer of appellant, and that no 

* The quotation is reproduced verbatim, and without alteration. 

2 
person by either name has been employed by appellant since 2010, much less as a 

corporate officer. 

On 17 November 2014, the government filed a motion to dismiss for lack of 

jurisdiction, contending that the "appealing entity" is not the entity with which it 

entered the contract. Despite a Board order that appellant respond to that motion, 

appellant has not done so. Nor has appellant responded to a 15 January 2015 order to 

show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed with prejudice for failure to 

prosecute. 

DECISION 

We regard Mr. Mohamed's letter stating that "Mrs. Tracey Grooms is the 

corporate officer in this company and she is fully authorized to represent our company 

in this case, we are submitting this letter according to Rule 15(a)," as appellant's 

designation of Tracey Grooms as its representative in this appeal. Because neither 

Tracey Grooms nor Tracy Grooms is a corporate officer of appellant, and because 

there is no suggestion that appellant is represented by an attorney, appellant's 

representative in this appeal does not meet the requirements of Board Rule 15(a) 

(2014). Consequently, we grant the government's 17 June 2014 motion, and dismiss 

the appeal, without prejudice to its reinstatement upon entering of appearance by a 

person authorized under Board Rule 15(a) to represent it in the prosecution of this 

appeal. In view of this decision, the government's motion to dismiss for lack of 

jurisdiction is dismissed as moot. 

CONCLUSION 

For the reasons stated, the appeal is dismissed, without prejudice. 

Dated: 18 June 2015 

(Signatures continued) 

3 

Judge 

Armed Services Board 

of Contract Appeals 
I concur 

~~1fflt-- MARK N. STEMPLER 

Administrative Judge 

Acting Chairman 

Armed Services Board 

of Contract Appeals 

I concur d+K .. 

RICHARD SHACKLEFORD 

Administrative Judge 

Vice Chairman 

Armed Services Board 

of Contract Appeals 

I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the Opinion and Decision of the 

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals in ASBCA No. 59354, Appeal of Smart 

Construction & Engineering Co., rendered in conformance with the Board's Charter. 

Dated: 

4 

JEFFREY D. GARDIN 

R.ecorder,Armed Services 

Board of Contract Appeals