CBCA 5575

DENIED: July 20, 2017 CBCA 5575 NANCY McBROOM, Appellant, v. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, Respondent. Nancy McBroom, pro se, Pagosa Springs, CO. Leigh Ann Bunetta, Office of Regional Counsel, General Services Administration, Denver, CO, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges SHERIDAN, O’ROURKE, and CHADWICK. SHERIDAN, Board Judge. Appellant, Nancy McBroom, appeals the denial of her claim for compensation for repairs needed to be done to a vehicle purchased through the General Services Administration (GSA) auction website or, in the alternative, for a full refund of the purchase price. Appellant alleges that the vehicle was knowingly misdescribed, in breach of the GSA Fleet Vehicle Sales Terms and Conditions for Internet Sales Description Warranty, because the description did not disclose an engine manifold leak. Appellant contacted the contracting officer nine months after the date of removal seeking the above-mentioned relief. GSA denied this request on the grounds that the claim was untimely submitted, that the vehicle was altered, and that the vehicle was not misdescribed. CBCA 5575 2 The parties have agreed to submit the case on the record, pursuant to Rule 19 (48 CFR 6101.19(a) (2015)). As we find that appellant did not timely submit her claim, failed to maintain the vehicle in the same condition as it was upon removal, and failed to prove misdescription, the appeal is denied. Background On January 13, 2016, the GSA offered for sale through its auction website (gsaauctions.gov) one 2010 Dodge wagon. The full description stated: DODGE POWER WAGON 2500 4DR 4X4 GAS AUTO TRANS WHITE I426755 DAMAGES – SCRATCHES, SCUFFS, CHIPS, DINGS AND DENTS CONSISTENT WITH FIELD USE – MAY HAVE SMALL HOLES IN DASH, CONSOLE, FLOOR, ROOF FROM EQUIPMENT REMOVAL, MAY HAVE STAINS AND WEAR ON CARPET AND SEATS. SOLD AS IS. BIDDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO VIEW VEHICLE BEFORE BIDDING. The Department of the Interior (DOI) owned the vehicle prior to the auction. In order to place bids, prospective bidders are required to register with the GSA auction website by providing personal information, creating a username and password, and agreeing to the Online Sales Terms and Conditions. By agreeing to the Online Sales Terms and Conditions, bidders also agree to the General Sales Terms and Conditions of the standard form 114C. The Online Sales Terms and Conditions contain an inspection clause, a condition warranty, a description warranty and refunds clause, a disputes agreement, and an available relief clause. Under the inspection clause: [b]idders agree to physically inspect the property upon which they bid or thereby waive the opportunity to conduct a physical inspection. In waiving their inspection rights, bidders bear the risk for any gross omissions regarding the functionality of items, failures to cite major missing parts and/or restrictions with regards to usage that would have been revealed by physical inspection. The condition warranty of the Online Sale Terms and Conditions replaces the condition warranty in standard form 114C with: CBCA 5575 3 [c]ondition of property is not warranted. Deficiencies, when known, have been indicated in the property descriptions. However, absence of any indicated deficiencies does not mean that none exists. Therefore, the bidder should ascertain the condition of the item through physical inspection. Upon any sale of a government fleet vehicle, bidders, in addition to the Online Sales Terms and Conditions, are bound by the Fleet Vehicle Sales Terms and Conditions for Internet Sales, which includes a description warranty that states: The Government warrants to the original purchaser that the property listed in the invitation for bids will conform to its description. If a misdescription is determined before removal of the property, the Government will keep the property and refund any money paid. If a misdescription is determined after removal, the Government will refund any money paid if the purchaser takes the property at his or her expense to a location specified by the Contracting Officer.