(Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes PARTIES TO DISPUTE:


STATEMENT OF CLAIM: "Claim of the System Committee of the Brotherhood that:

The claim presented on November 15, 1976 to Manager/Engineering W. E. Webster, Jr. by Assistant Foreman Richard Kimmel, Trackman Gary L. Hull and Trackman Leonard T. Rhodes shall be allowed as thereby presented because Manager/Engineering W. E. Webster, Jr. failed to disallow the claim within , sixty days of date of presentation. (System File CUM-662/2-M3-1793)"

OPINION OF BOARD: A timely claim was filed. Carrier mailed a timely
letter of denial, by first class mail as was the parties' practice, but it was not received by the Claimants. The claim has been placed before the Board on procedural questions only. The Organization takes the position that it mist be allowed because Carrier did not respond within the time limits. Carrier takes the position that the claim must be dismissed because the Organization did not make a timely appeal. The Board met a similar situation with the following observation in Second Division Award No. 3541: "This presumption being that both parties are telling the truth, we find that carrier gave timely notices of disallowance of claim as required by the Time Lim that the local chairman failed to receive them, so neither is in default under the rule."

Here the Board will dismiss the claim since neither party has shown a right to a sustaining award on procedural grounds.





That the Carrier and the Employes involved in this dispute are respectively Carrier and Employes within the meaning of the Railway Labor
Act, as approved June 21, 1934; __



That this Division of the Adjustment Board has jurisdiction over the dispute involved herein; and

        That the claim should be dismissed.


                      A W A R D


        Claim dismissed.


                            NATIONAL RAILROAD ADJUSTMENT BOARD

                            By Order of Third Division


`ATTEST;
        Executive Secretary


Dated at Chicago, Illinois, this 27th day of June 1980.