A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“COFC”) serves as an important reminder that forum selection under the Contract Disputes Act (“CDA”) can have consequences that extend beyond a single appeal. In Gilbane Federal v. United States, 182 Fed. Cl. 177 (2026), the Court transferred a contractor’s claim to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (“ASBCA”) even though the contractor could no longer have filed that claim directly at the ASBCA because the CDA’s 90-day appeal period had already expired. The Court concluded nonetheless that transfer was appropriate because a separate appeal related to the same contract was pending before the ASBCA.

The decision highlights two often-overlooked features of CDA litigation. First, forum selection is not simply a matter of choosing between the COFC and the Boards of Contract Appeals for a particular claim. Second, when multiple claims arising from the same contract are litigated in different forums, the COFC has broad authority to consolidate or transfer those disputes in the interest of justice and efficiency.