Board of Contract Appeals
                 General Services Administration
                      Washington, D.C. 20405


                                                                                         

           DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE: April 25, 2003
                                                                                         


                           GSBCA 16081


                  SOUTHWEST CONSTRUCTORS, INC.,

                                             Appellant,

                                v.

                 GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION,

                                             Respondent.

     William L. Lutz of Martin, Lutz, Roggow, Hosford & Eubanks, P.C., Las Cruces,
NM, counsel for Appellant.

     Telo W. Braswell, Office of General Counsel, General Services Administration,
Washington, DC, counsel for Respondent.

DANIELS, Board Judge (Chairman).

                              ORDER

     Southwest Constructors, Inc. (Southwest) designed and built a replacement chiller for
the United States Courthouse in Fort Worth, Texas, under a contract with the General
Services Administration (GSA).  

     Southwest asserted that during the course of construction, a GSA employee took
actions which damaged the chiller.  The contractor presented the contracting officer with a
list of estimated costs of the damage and requested a meeting to discuss the matter.

     Several months later, the contracting officer responded with a long letter raising many
other issues and concluding, "Your claim for a substantial loss . . . to the temporary chiller
is denied."  Southwest appealed the contracting officer's conclusions.

     Both parties now agree that Southwest never filed a claim as to damage to the chiller,
that the contracting officer in her letter did not make any claims, and that the letter is
consequently not an appealable decision.  Southwest has withdrawn its appeal without
prejudice.  The parties have decided to attempt to resolve their differences without formal
proceedings.

     To accomplish the result Southwest seeks, the appeal is DISMISSED WITHOUT
PREJUDICE.





                                   _________________________
                                   STEPHEN M. DANIELS
                                   Board Judge