The Maryland Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) recently sustained an appeal brought by PDI-Sheets Construction, Inc. (“PDI”) against the State Highway Administration (“SHA”) on the basis that PDI was the lowest responsive bidder.

The relevant project involved miscellaneous roadway structure repairs throughout Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s Counties. The SHA’s Invitation for Bid (“IFB”) contained Special Bidding Instructions (“SBI”) which alerted the contractor that minimum unit prices had been established for many of the bid items. The SBI also declared that if a bid price was below the minimum unit price for any item, then the entire bid would be deemed non-responsive and, thus, rejected.

At bid opening, it was determined that PDI was the third lowest bidder behind Allied Contractors, Inc. (“Allied”) and Mercier’s Inc. (“Mercier’s”). While all unit prices submitted by PDI in its bid equaled or exceeded the minimum unit prices set forth in the IFB, the same could not be said for Allied and Mercier’s. Both Allied’s and Mercier’s bids included prices that were lower than the established minimum unit prices.