SIZE APPEAL OF: CLEMONS, INC., APPELLANT

*1 On February 5, 2024, Clemons, Inc. (Appellant) filed the above-captioned appeal with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA). The appeal purported to challenge Size Determination No. 1-SD-2024-09, in which SBA's Office of Government Contracting — Area I (Area Office) found that ASR International Corp. (ASR) is a small business under the size standard associated with the subject procurement.

*1 Although the appeal petition was deficient in multiple respects, Appellant's deadline for filing a proper appeal had not yet expired. As a result, OHA ordered that Appellant would have until February 15, 2024 to submit a new appeal petition.

*1 OHA explained that Appellant's appeal was insufficient for several reasons. First, the appeal did not clearly state what error(s), if any, Appellant alleged the Area Office to have committed, as is necessary for a proper appeal under 13 C.F.R. §§ 134.305(a)(3) and 134.314. Instead, Appellant merely speculated that the Area Office's review may not have been comprehensive, and urged that OHA should undertake a new investigation. OHA, though, is an appellate forum and lacks authority to issue its own size determinations. (Order at 1, citing Size Appeal of Latvian Connection, LLC, SBA No. SIZ-5734 (2016).) Additionally, the appeal was unsigned and was not served to ASR or to SBA's Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law, in contravention of 13 C.F.R. § 134.305(a)(4) and (b). (Id.) Lastly, the individual who transmitted the appeal did not appear to be an attorney or an officer of Appellant, with authority to represent Appellant in an OHA proceeding. (Id., citing 13 C.F.R. § 134.208(a).) Appellant did not submit a new appeal petition, nor otherwise respond to OHA's Order.

*1 Under OHA's rules of procedure, a deficient appeal may be summarily dismissed. 13 C.F.R. § 134.305(e). In the instant case, as discussed above, Appellant's appeal is deficient in multiple respects, and Appellant did not avail itself of the opportunity to cure those defects. Furthermore, a party's failure to comply with an OHA Order may, by itself, be grounds for dismissal. 13 C.F.R. § 134.219(a)(1), (a)(2), and (b)(2); Size Appeal of Zeido Techs., LLC, SBA No. SIZ-6248 (2023); Size Appeal of Prosperitus Sols., SBA No. SIZ-6221 (2023). Notably, OHA here expressly warned Appellant that “[i]f a proper appeal petition is not filed and served by February 15, 2024, OHA will dismiss the appeal.” (Order at 2 (emphasis in original).)

*2 For these reasons, the appeal is DISMISSED. This is the final decision of the U.S. Small Business Administration. 13 C.F.R. § 134.316(d).