Top Level Construction Company v. Department of State

N OTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
TOP LEVEL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY,
Appellant
v.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Appellee
______________________
2026-1768
______________________
Appeal from the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals in
No. 8301, Administrative Judge Harold D. Lester, Jr., Ad-
ministrative Judge Jonathan L. Kang, and Administrative
Judge Kathleen J. O’Rourke.
______________________
Before T ARANTO, CHEN, and STOLL , Circuit Judges.
P ER CURIAM .
O R D E R
Following this court’s June 4, 2026 order directing the
parties to address whether this appeal should be dismissed
based on Top Level Construction Company’s failure to re-
tain counsel, the Department of State urges dismissal
while Khaybar Ziarmal, the president of Top Level, urges
the court to assert jurisdiction. We dismiss.
Case: 26-1768 Document: 9 Page: 1 Filed: 07/27/2026

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TOP LEVEL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY v. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2
“A corporation, partnership, organization, or other le-
gal entity must be represented by counsel before this
court.” Fed. Cir. R. 47.3(a); see Rowland v. Cal. Men’s Col-
ony, 506 U.S. 194, 201–02 (1993) (“It has been the law for
the better part of two centuries . . . that a corporation may
appear in the federal courts only through licensed coun-
sel.”); 28 U.S.C. § 1654. And “[t]his requirement may not
be waived.” Min. Hill Venture v. Norton, 31 F. App’x 675,
676 (Fed. Cir. 2002); see Algonac Mfg. Co. v. United States,
458 F.2d 1373, 1375 (Ct. Cl. 1972). Here, Mr. Ziarmal
seeks to pursue an appeal on his company’s behalf, but he
does not appear to be an attorney and no attorney has en-
tered an appearance on behalf of Top Level. Thus, while
this court may have jurisdiction, Top Level may not main-
tain this appeal without legal representation.
Accordingly,
I T I S O RDERED T HAT :
(1) The appeal is dismissed.
(2) Each party shall bear its own costs.
July 27, 2026
Date
F OR THE COURT
Case: 26-1768 Document: 9 Page: 2 Filed: 07/27/2026

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