Sole-Source Protest Win Nets Only Protest Costs
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 12.08.05
In Europe Displays, Inc. (Dec. 5, 2005, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/297099.pdf), GAO sustained a protest challenging a sole-source award under Simplified Acquisition Procedures because the agency’s justification was not objectively reasonable based on the information reasonably available to the agency, regardless of whether the agency had acted in good faith. However, because the contract had been fully performed by the time of the GAO decision, GAO awarded the protester only its protest costs, reasoning that the cost of responding to a FedBizOpps announcement of a proposed sole-source award, including preparation of a capability statement, is not a “proposal” cost for which GAO can recommend reimbursement.
Insights
Client Alert | 4 min read | 10.30.26
Recent sustain decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Fluor Federal Solutions, LLC and Reliance Test & Technology send a clear message: when an agency tries to fix a Procurement Integrity Act (PIA) violation by committing a second one, the cure can be just as fatal as the disease. The cases involved the U.S. Air Force’s $1.8 billion procurement for O&M services at Elgin Air Force Base. During discussions, the Air Force inadvertently released a pricing overview slide with all offerors’ bottom-line evaluated costs to Reliance Test & Technology, which immediately notified the agency of the error. In response, the Air Force decided to level the playing field by providing the same information to all the other offerors in the procurement, stating, “[o]fferors may consider this disclosure in their [final proposal revision].”
Client Alert | 3 min read | 10.29.26
What University Licensors Should Learn From TexasLDPC v. Broadcom
Client Alert | 2 min read | 10.28.26
Debriefing to Dead Briefing: How to Avoid Dismissal by Identifying “Required” Debriefings
