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USPS Auction Crash Lands

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 11.01.05

The Court of Federal Claims in Asia Pacific Airlines v. U.S. (Oct. 14, 2005) grounded USPS when it indicated to bidders that varying flight schedules for mail transport would be permissible and then disqualified the low bidder on two lanes after two rounds of internet auction for failing to conform to the suggested tender times. The court enjoined not only the awards for those two lanes, but for several others that the airline said it would have bid on if it had known the true ground rules.

Insights

Client Alert | 4 min read | 09.15.26

GAO Indicates Reasonable Conflict of Interest Investigation Must Include Inquiry of Involved Firm

The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recent decision in Viderity Inc.—Costs, B-424422.5, Sept. 1, 2026, offers useful insight into what constitutes a legally sufficient conflict of interest investigation. The decision arose in an unusual procedural posture: Viderity initially protested, alleging that an agency evaluator had a personal conflict of interest. After the agency took corrective action, Viderity filed a cost entitlement claim requesting that GAO direct the agency to reimburse Viderity’s protest costs. In evaluating that claim, GAO assessed whether Viderity’s underlying protest ground was “clearly meritorious.”...