July 30, 1998

Appeal of

NATIONWIDE POSTAL MANAGEMENT

LEASE AGREEMENT

PSBCA No. 4120

APPEARANCE FOR APPELLANT:

J. Leonard Spodek

APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:

Gary Shapiro, Esq.

OPINION OF THE BOARD ON MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

Appellant has filed a motion for reconsideration of the Board's decision to dismiss this appeal for Appellant's failure to prosecute. In its motion, Appellant argues that it was understaffed and could not find qualified people; that it was undergoing a transformation from one computer program to another; and that this appeal was but one of many legal matters that needed the personal attention of Appellant's principal.

This appeal originated when Appellant filed a notice of appeal in response to a contracting officer's decision asserting a claim against Appellant under a Postal Service lease. In response to Appellant's notice of appeal, the Board docketed the appeal and supplied Appellant with a copy of the Board's rules and notified Appellant it was required to file a complaint within thirty (30) days after receipt of the docketing notice. Appellant failed to file a complaint within the thirty-day period and did not subsequently do so despite Board Orders issued to Appellant on November 14 and December 24, 1997, allowing Appellant additional periods of time in which to file the complaint. Finally, on February 27, 1998, the Board issued Appellant an Order to Show Cause directing Appellant to file its complaint by March 16, 1998, or show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed with prejudice for failure to prosecute. The Order warned that Appellant's failure to comply "will result in the dismissal with prejudice of this appeal." Appellant received this Order on March 5, 1998, but failed to file a complaint or otherwise respond to the Order. Accordingly, on March 31, 1998, the appeal was dismissed with prejudice pursuant to 39 C.F.R. §955.32 for Appellant's failure to prosecute.

Nothing in Appellant's motion for reconsideration explains or otherwise justifies why Appellant could not have responded to any of the above Orders. Appellant's principal has prosecuted a number of appeals before this Board and has personally filed numerous complaints without benefit of assistance from others. Thus, the inability to find qualified personnel or problems with its computer system should not have prevented Appellant from filing a complaint or requesting an extension of time to do so.

In view of Appellant's continual disregard of the Board's orders directing it to file a complaint, or to show cause why it could not do so, dismissal of this appeal with prejudice was appropriate. See Nationwide Postal Management, PSBCA Nos. 4016-17, 4019-24, 4026-29, 4031, 4035 & 4059 (July 17, 1998); Sun Technical Services, Inc., ASBCA No. 48788, 96-1 BCA ¶ 28,075; VIP Services of Kansas, GSBCA No. 6188, 81-2 BCA ¶ 15,353; see also Fairfield Scientific Corp. v. United States, 228 Ct. Cl. 264, 655 F.2d 1062 (1981).

Appellant's motion offers nothing that would cause us to change our dismissal with prejudice. Appellant's motion for reconsideration is, therefore, denied.

William K. Mahn

Administrative Judge

Board Member

I concur:

James A. Cohen

Administrative Judge

Chairman

I concur:

David I. Brochstein

Administrative Judge

Vice Chairman