Gourt Home::Gourt :: United States Court of Federal Claims
The United States Court of Federal Claims is a court formed on October 1, 1982 as the United States Claims Court, a successor to the trial division of the United States Court of Claims. On October 28, 1992, the name of the court was changed to the United States Court of Federal Claims *.
Jurisdiction
The court has limited jurisdiction, spelled out in 28 U.S.C. 1491: it can only hear claims for money that arise from the United States Constitution, federal statutes, executive regulations, or express or implied-in-fact contracts with the United States Federal Government (see the Tucker Act).
The court has concurrent jurisdiction involving contracts, where a contractor has the option of choosing between filing suit with the court or with the agency Board of Contract Appeals. The general rule is that a contractor may either 1) file suit within 90 days with the agency Board of Contract Appeals or 2) file suit within one year with the court. A contractor, however, must choose which forum in which to file; a contractor cannot file suit with both the agency Board and with the court. (However, in a case where a contractor has filed with the Board, and the Government challenges the timeliness of the filing – the 90-day limit is statutory and cannot be extended – the contractor can file with the court within the one-year period to protect its claims.)
Appeals
Judgments of the court may be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Article I court
The court is established pursuant to Congress's authority under Article I of the United States Constitution. Unlike judges of courts established under Article III, judges on the Court of Federal Claims do not have lifetime tenure. Instead, the judges serve for a term of fifteen years.
External links
Bibliography
The United States Court of Claims handbook and procedures manual / author, David B. Stinson. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 2003.
The United States Court of Federal Claims : a deskbook for practitioners / United States Court of Federal Claims Bar Association. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: The Bar Association, 1998.
"United States Court of Federal Claims"