CAB Judges Continue to Excel in FY24
Courts that administer civil justice, like the DC Contract Appeals Board, work routinely to keep unnecessary litigation delays and costs to an absolute minimum. Unnecessary delays not only increase the risk that witnesses and evidence may be unavailable at trial, they also open the door for litigation costs to escalate beyond what is reasonable. For this reason, the Board has worked diligently to eliminate case backlogs at CAB. In fact, CAB has not had a docket backlog in over 10 years. As of the final quarter of FY24, CAB Judges continue this tradition of excellence. For FY24 (to date), the Board does not have any backlogged cases.
Although over 20,000 pages of litigation materials have been filed with CAB in FY 24 (to date), the Board has closed 100% of protests and appeals within the required timelines. All closed FY24 protests were resolved within 60 business days of filing (as required by D.C. Code § 2-360.08(d)). Moreover, the average time that it has taken the Board to close protests in FY24 has been 37.6 business days. All closed FY24 appeals were resolved within four months of the case being ready for final decision. In total, the Board has closed 26 cases in FY24 (to date). In addition, 50% of the FY24 closed cases were settled by the parties prior to a Board decision, saving parties the time and expense of protracted litigation.
In addition, the DC Courts have affirmed the Board in five consecutive cases dating back to 2019.1 Having reached the fourth quarter of FY24, the Board continues its tradition of closing cases promptly and knowledgeably. We commend Judges Loud, Parchment, and Majett, and the entire CAB team for their continuing service.
In FY24, Board Seeks Feedback on Your Use of the CAB Website for Case Searches Following the Board’s Transition to Digital and Cloud Technology for our Records Database
In FY23, the transparency of Board litigation records took a gigantic leap forward. In April 2023 the Board uploaded 40,831 newly digitized case records in searchable format for public access at www.cab.dc.gov. The newly uploaded records added approximately 1.2 million pages of case materials to the Board’s existing records database. These records can be searched on the Board’s website using keyword, date, case name or other search protocols. Website users can search for Opinions in some of the Board’s oldest known cases (e.g., Capitol Engineering, January 17, 1958), as well as search tens of thousands of litigation records from the 1950s-2024. In addition, all records in newly filed FY24 cases are uploaded to the Board’s website within three business days of filing (excluding records sealed to protect confidential data pursuant to Board Orders). In addition to expanding our records database, the Board migrated the entire case search database to the cloud in July 2023. Please give us feedback on using our case search database. The cloud-based servers automatically update to newer versions, and seamlessly provide security patches and routine maintenance. Furthermore, the new cloud environment positions the Board to be future-ready for emerging technologies (e.g., Artificial Intelligence), as many vendors only support cloud-based applications. The Board commends our General Counsel, IT Director, CAB staff and OCTO for their hard work reaching these milestones.
Courtroom Calendar
The DC Contract Appeals Board online calendar was launched in March 2012 in partnership with the DC OCTO and offers a comprehensive online calendar of upcoming Board trials. The calendar is updated regularly and displays currently scheduled trials. The Board has conducted in-person and hybrid trials in FY24. All Board trials are open to the public, except those that are subject to a protective order (as noted).
For further information regarding the above matters, please contact CAB General Counsel Mark D. Poindexter at [email protected]. The Board’s main office may be reached at (202) 727-6597. The Board’s office is located at 441 4th Street NW., Washington DC and is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm (except holidays).
1 The five consecutive cases affirmed by the DC Courts are D.C. v. D.C. Contract Appeals Board, 263 A.3d 480 (D.C. 2022); Black Creek Integrated Systems Corp v. District Department of Corrections (D.C. Court of Appeals No. 19-AA- 757)(issued August 8, 2022); BRSI LP d/b/a Benefit Recovery v. D.C. Contract Appeals Board, (D.C. Super. Ct. CA No.2022 CA 000344 P (MPA)(issued August 30, 2022); Spectrum Management, LLC v. D.C. Contract Appeals Board, (D.C.Super. Ct. CA No. 2019 CA001266 P(MPA)(issued September 11, 2019) and Rustler Construction, Inc. v. District of Columbia, 211 A.3d 187 (D.C. 2019)(decided July 3, 2019).
