Opinion ID: 783066
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Res Judicata Effect of the February 27, 2001, Administrative Decisions

Text: 30 The February 27, 2001, administrative decisions which purported to resurrect TVA's Official not to Benefit defense and to deny Diversified's claims were invalid from the outset and are therefore not entitled to any preclusive effect. Where, as here, a claim for damages under the CDA is in litigation, a Disputes Contracting Officer has absolutely no authority to issue a final decision on that claim. See Sharman Co. v. United States, 2 F.3d 1564, 1571-72 (Fed.Cir.1993), rev'd on other grounds, Reflectone, Inc. v. Dalton, 60 F.3d 1572, 1580 (Fed.Cir.1995) (citing Durable Metal Prods., Inc. v. United States, 21 Cl.Ct. 41, 46 (1990)). In Sharman, there had been no stay of judicial proceedings, and we do not hold that court stays are never appropriate to permit additional administrative proceedings under the CDA. In this case, however, in light of our holding that the district court had jurisdiction over Diversified's lost profits claim when Diversified filed its complaint in 1997, there was no need for the district court to stay the judicial proceedings, and at least in that context the Disputes Contracting Officer's February 27, 2001, decisions must be treated as entitled to no preclusive effect.