Opinion ID: 614787
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims Relating to Site Visits Between 2002 and 2004

Text: Applying the reasoning set forth above to section 7105(e)(1)(B) of the CDA, Engage's allegations of a contract, either express or implied-in-fact, with the BIA for services rendered in 2002 and 2004 suffice to establish the Board's jurisdiction relative to a contract with the BIA. In this case, it is undisputed that Engage had an express contract with the BIA, PO 020259, which included $36,000 for site visits to BIA schools. In its appeal, Engage sought $80,485 for additional site visits in 2002, claiming entitlement under PO 020259, as modified by amendments to requisition KOOE20-2-27, as one of its theories of recovery. Accordingly, Engage's appeal to the Board on this claim undoubtedly met the jurisdictional requirements of section 607(d): Engage's appeal was taken from a decision of a BIA CO denying payment under PO 020259, a contract made by the BIA. The determination of whether PO 020259 was in fact modified to include the unpaid services is not jurisdictional; it is a decision on the merits. See Bell, 327 U.S. at 682, 66 S.Ct. 773. Engage also triggered the Board's jurisdiction by claiming a right to payment of the $80,485 relating to site visits based on its assertion of an implied-in-fact contract with the BIA. As under the Tucker Act, the Board's jurisdiction under the CDA does not depend on the undisputed existence of a contract between a provider and an agency. Rather, a claim that an individual or a company has a contract with an executive agency meets the jurisdictional requirement that a CO's decision denying payment under the alleged contract is relative to a contract with that agency. 41 U.S.C. § 7105(e)(1)(B). As with a dispute over the scope of an acknowledged contract, the determination of whether or not a contract in fact exists is not jurisdictional; it is a decision on the merits. See Bell, 327 U.S. at 682, 66 S.Ct. 773. Consequently, the Board erred in requiring Engage to prove, at this juncture, the existence of a contract. Mastering the distinction between a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction and a dismissal on the merits is not merely an intellectual exercise without practical utility. Do-Well Mach., 870 F.2d at 640. First, a dismissal on the merits usually carries res judicata effect whereas a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction typically does not. See id. (citing Vink v. Hendrikus Johannes Schijf, Rolkan N.V., 839 F.2d 676, 677 (Fed.Cir.1988)). Under the CDA, a contractor may appeal the decision of a CO to the Board or to the Court of Federal Claims. 41 U.S.C. § 7104(b)(1). Thus, to avoid the risk of revisiting this case in the Court of Federal Claims, the government must procure a judgment from the Board on the merits. See Do-Well Mach., 870 F.2d at 640. Second, a court's characterization of a decision as jurisdictional rather than as on the merits affects its treatment of disputed facts. In deciding a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the trial court must accept as true the factual allegations in the complaint. See Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 10, 101 S.Ct. 173, 66 L.Ed.2d 163 (1980); Cedars-Sinai Med. Ctr. v. Watkins, 11 F.3d 1573, 1584 n. 13 (Fed.Cir.1993). And, at the summary judgment stage, the court must identify but may not decide factual disputes; at this stage, the court's function is not to make credibility determinations and weigh the evidence so as to determine the truth, but rather to determine whether a genuine factual dispute exists for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In contrast to a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, in deciding a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the court accepts as true only uncontroverted factual allegations in the complaint. Cedars-Sinai, 11 F.3d at 1583-84. And, unlike at summary judgment, disputed facts outside the pleadings are subject to the fact finding of the court. Id.; see also Arbaugh, 546 U.S. at 514, 126 S.Ct. 1235. Thus, by characterizing the question of whether a contract exists as a jurisdictional one, the Board permitted itself to resolve, rather than merely identify, genuine issues of disputed fact underlying Engage's contract claim. See Board Op., at 7. Specifically, the Board discounted as not credible the testimony of Engage's Vice President that King verbally authorized Engage to conduct four site visits to thirty-two Indian schools during the 2002-2003 school year. Id. at 12. The Board also discounted as uncorroborated Shaughnessy's testimony that she was a CO representative with authority to authorize the work performed by Engage. Id. at 11. On the current record, these sworn statements raise genuine issues of material fact regarding the existence of a contract for the site visits performed by Engage, precluding affirmance based on the government's alternative motion for summary judgment. It appears, moreover, that questions regarding the propriety of further discovery and the admissibility of certain evidence remain. The current record includes King's October 4, 2002, memorandum from the OIG's file, even though Engage's attorney has been denied access to this file. Engage alleges that this memorandum is both inadmissible and unreliable, but the Board did not address this issue. For these reasons, we vacate the Board's dismissal on jurisdictional grounds and remand this portion of Engage's appeal for further proceedings on the merits consistent with this opinion.