___________________________________ GRANTED: February 15, 1995 ___________________________________ GSBCA 13114 INFORMATION HANDLING SERVICES, INC., Appellant, v. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, Respondent. Sharon E. Nelson of Arlington, VA, counsel for Appellant. Michael D. Tully, Office of General Counsel, General Services Administration, Washington, DC, counsel for Respondent. Before Board Judges PARKER, HYATT, and GOODMAN. HYATT, Board Judge. On December 12, 1994, Information Handling Services, Inc. (IHS), appealed a contracting officer's deemed denial of its claim for Prompt Payment Act interest due on late payments made by ordering agencies for purchases under a nonmandatory multiple award schedule contract. IHS claimed entitlement to the amount of $52,458.08, plus interest. On February 13, 1995, the parties, IHS and the General Services Administration (GSA), filed a "stipulation of award/settlement agreement" with the Board, requesting entry of judgment in accordance with the terms of that agreement. The agreement states that the stipulation of settlement reached by the parties is based on the following factual premises: GSA awarded contract no. GS00K92AGS5484 to IHS and the contract was in effect from April 1, 1992 through March 30, 1993. The contract was a nonmandatory multiple award schedule contract which allowed various federal agencies, and other authorized users, to place delivery orders for various technical data subscription services to be delivered in CD-ROM format at prices agreed upon by GSA. The contract provided that invoices were to be paid upon receipt by the ordering agencies. The contract was also subject to, inter alia, the Prompt Payment Act, 31 U.S.C. 3901-3907 (1988), which provides for payment of interest to be made to a contractor if an ordering agency fails to make payment to the contractor (in this instance, IHS) within 30 days after receipt of invoice. IHS's invoicing system postdates the produced invoices by three days and mails the invoices on the day they are printed. This system is designed to provide the agencies with a particular invoice on or before the actual date printed on the invoice. During the course of the contract, IHS provided the required services and billed the ordering agencies accordingly. Throughout the course of the contract, on hundreds of occasions, numerous agencies or authorized users routinely made late payments of the invoiced amounts, but neglected to pay Prompt Payment Act interest along with the late payments. IHS has tracked the late payment histories for each invoice, capturing such information as the date of invoice, user, bill to address, invoice amount, payment amount, check date, delivery order number, interest owed, and number of days late. IHS's system shows payment as being late if payment is not made by the 31st day after the invoice date. In this Stipulation of Settlement, the late payments range anywhere from 3 to 338 days after the 31st day after the invoice date. IHS has agreed to forgo its claim for 77 instances of late payments running from 1 to 2 days after the 31st day after the invoice date. The amount of interest for the late payments of 1 to 2 days following the 31st day after the invoice date amounts to $260.22. On December 10, 1993, IHS sent a certified claim to the GSA contracting officer for $52,458.08, plus interest, for the overdue amounts of Prompt Payment Act interest owed by the various agencies under the contract. The claim was received by the contracting officer on December 23, 1993. The claim provided, along with other evidence, a computer-generated report summarizing all pertinent data concerning the billing, late payments and interest owed. The information contained in the computer-generated report reflects information contained in IHS' hard copy materials, which have also been made available for GSA's review. On January 27, 1994, IHS representatives met with the GSA contracting specialist handling the contract. During the meeting IHS presented samples of the hard copy supporting materials requested by GSA for review. The contracting specialist reviewed sample supporting documentation selected at random and was satisfied that the samples supported the respective amounts claimed by IHS and that IHS' claim was valid; however, the GSA contracting officer never issued a decision on IHS' claim. In consideration of these premises, the parties have stipulated to the following: 1. The Government shall agree to pay IHS from the Permanent Indefinite Judgement Fund a total not to exceed $52,197.86, plus any interest pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 611 running from December 23, 1993; 2. As set forth in detail in the attached 147 page exhibit to this stipulation, the agencies listed below are liable under the terms of the contract for interest on late payments in the amounts shown, with statutory interest, as follows: General Services Administration $ 397.89 Department of Defense $ 5,302.14 Department of the Army $ 10,451.62 Department of the Navy $ 14,954.90 Department of the Air Force $ 4,554.54 Department of Agriculture $ 1,241.11 Department of Commerce $ 34.72 Department of Energy $ 4,296.50 Department of Health & Human Services $ 1,071.12 Department of Justice $ 859.17 Department of Labor $ 113.60 Department of State $ 187.31 Department of Transportation $ 2,643.94 Department of Treasury $ 441.20 ACTION $ 1.68 Commodity Futures & Trading Commission $ 1.85 U.S. Government Printing Office $ 23.85 Central Intelligence Agency $ 5.16 D.C. Department of Public Works $ 1.85 D.C. Housing & Urban Development $ 16.85 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission $ 346.35 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission $ 362.88 Federal Labor Relations Authority $ 2.19 Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board $ 2.12 National Institutes of Standards and Technology $ 111.30 National Labor Relations Board $ 16.87 National Park Service $ 3.32 Office of Management and Budget $ 12.13 Panama Canal Commission $ 68.32 Peace Corps $ 14.93 Resolution Trust Corporation $ 97.35 Smithsonian Institution $ 40.61 U.S. Postal Service $ 2.49 U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development $ 63.37 U.S. International Trade Commission $ 15.90 U.S. Merits Systems Protection Board $ 10.51 Department of the Interior $ 1,289.03 United States Congress $ 13.76 Environmental Protection Agency $ 103.11 Federal Emergency Management Agency $ 230.54 National Aeronautics & Space Administration $ 602.25 Office of Personnel Management $ 239.84 Small Business Administration $ 661.81 U.S. Information Agency $ 220.68 Department of Veterans Affairs $ 1,065.20 TOTAL: $ 52,197.86 3. The agencies identified in paragraph 2, supra, were responsible for breaching the contract in the manner stated in this Stipulation of Settlement and the aforementioned agencies shall be deemed to be the agencies whose appropriations were used for the contract, as set forth in 41 U.S.C. 612(c); 4. GSA and IHS agree that this Stipulation of Settlement shall act as an accord and satisfaction of all claims relating to the litigation of GSBCA 13114; 5. Except as otherwise provided for in this Stipulation of Settlement, GSA and IHS forever discharge and release the other party from all claims of liability arising from or relating to this appeal, and all relief requested in the pleadings filed therein, including the payment of settlement costs, interest, attorney's fees or other costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act, Pub. L. 96-481, 94 Stat. 2324, Oct. 21, 1980, as amended by 90-80, 99 Stat. 183, Aug. 5, 1985, 5 U.S.C. 504, 28 U.S.C. 2412; 6. Nothing expressed or implied herein, is intended or shall be construed to confer upon or give any person, firm, corporation, or other entity, other than the parties herein, any right, remedy, or claim against any party hereto under or by reason of this Stipulation of Settlement or of any terms, covenants, promises, or agreements contained herein, which shall be for the sole exclusive benefit of the parties hereto, their successors and assigns; 7. Both parties have had adequate time to reflect upon, consider, and consult with legal counsel concerning the terms of this Stipulation of Settlement and that the parties have executed this Stipulation of Settlement voluntarily and free from improper influence or duress; 8. In construing this Stipulation of Settlement, no inference premised upon the origin or source of any language used herein shall be drawn; 9. This Stipulation of Settlement shall be binding upon the parties, and their successors and assigns; and 10. The parties signing this agreement certify that they have the authority to enter into this stipulation. FURTHERMORE, pursuant to Board Rule 36(e), the parties represent that they: (1) will not seek reconsideration of, or relief from, the Board's decision, and (2) will not appeal the decision. Pursuant to Rule 36(e), the Board enters judgment as requested. The Board does not, however, have authority to adjudicate the allocation of liability set forth in the list of agencies and users delineated in the stipulation of the parties. This is a nonjusticiable, intragovernmental matter which affects the rights of nonparties to this litigation. Heritage Reporting Corp. v. General Services Administration, GSBCA 10396 (July 23, 1992). Accordingly, the Board does not adopt paragraphs 2 or 3 set forth in the joint stipulation of settlement. Decision In accordance with the foregoing, the appeal is GRANTED. Judgment is entered for appellant in the amount of $52,197.86, plus interest pursuant to 41 U.S.C. 611 (1988), accruing from December 23, 1993. _____________________________ CATHERINE B. HYATT Board Judge We concur: ______________________________ _____________________________ ROBERT W. PARKER ALLAN H. GOODMAN Board Judge Board Judge