Claim for Legal Services in Sale of Residence at Old Duty Station

A Veterans Administration (VA) employee appealed a previous settlement action which disallowed a portion of the attorney's fees incurred in connection with his permanent change of official station. The purpose of the statutory authority for residence transaction expenses of transferred employees is to authorize reimbursement for the expenses of certain specific legal services described without regard to whether they are performed by attorneys, brokers, title companies, or others. As the items in question had previously been allowed by either the VA or GAO, and as there was no evidence of record which indicated any factors which would require disallowance under more recent findings, further collection action was not warranted.