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Court Dumps CICA Stay Override

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.05.07

Continuing a trend at the Court of Federal Claims to give close scrutiny to agency overrides of CICA stays during a GAO protest, Judge Lettow in Superior Helicopter LLC v. U.S. (Aug. 30, 2007) found the Forest Service's override determination for firefighting helicopters deficient because it did not explain adequately why existing contracts could not suffice during the protest.  More dubious, however, was Judge Lettow's then taking testimony and doing a balancing of the interests based on that additional evidence, although he still found the agency's amplified explanations wanting in this instance.

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.23.26

Protester Beware: Recent GAO Decision Suggests Traditional “Reasonable Possibility” Prejudice Standard May Be Evolving

It is well established that “[c]ompetitive prejudice is an essential element of every viable protest.” Yet, for decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has tempered this requirement with two critical corollaries: protesters need only demonstrate a “reasonable possibility” that they were prejudiced by an agency’s actions, and GAO “will resolve doubts regarding prejudice in favor of the protester.” These principles have been consistent features of GAO’s bid protest jurisprudence for more than 30 years. See, e.g., United Int’l Eng'g, Inc., B-245448, Jan. 29, 1992, 71 CPD ¶ 177....