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"The New Contract Is Better" Isn't A Justification

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.11.06

The Court of Federal Claims in Advanced Systems Dev., Inc. v. U.S. (July 28, 2006) reinforced that an agency cannot justify the override of a CICA stay while a protest is pending at GAO by packaging reasons that amount to no more than the new contract will be better than the current situation. Moreover, the court rebuffed the agency's attempt to add reasons for the override and make the justification statement an "evolving" document during litigation.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.10.26

Federal Circuit Clarifies Application of Blue & Gold: Proposal Submission Deadline, Not Award, is the Operative Time for Filing

In Utech, Inc. v. United States, No. 24-1586 (Fed. Cir. June 24, 2026), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified that in most cases, a pre-award protest must be filed before the proposal submission deadline to avoid the Blue & Gold waiver rule.  This decision, while nonprecedential, is in line with U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) precedent, which has long held that pre-award protests must be filed before the proposal submission deadline....