With just a week to go in FY24, federal agencies are rushing to spend those "use it or lose it" dollars. And while there are a number of reasons that support filing a bid protest when you're an unsuccessful offeror – this...more
In a previous article, we analyzed what made protests successful at the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) in Fiscal Year 2023 (“FY23”). Now, we want to share some insights we gained while conducting the same analysis...more
Mid-America Milling Company v. United States Department of Transportation, Case No. 3:23-cv-00072 was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to challenge the federal Department of...more
Since our last Bid Protest Hub article in November, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has published 37 bid protest decisions, two of which have resulted in decisions sustaining the protester’s challenge. As we...more
On December 20, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied an unsuccessful bidder’s protest, arguing, among other things, that the procurement was tainted by an appearance of impropriety after the agency...more
The 2023 clock is winding down, meaning some folks are planning New Year's Eve parties, and others are googling the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne. For service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses ("SDVOSB"), the end of the...more
Contractors know when they bid a public job that it’s the lowest and best bidder that will ultimately come out on top. Contractors and public bodies also know that when a public body rejects the lowest bid, it needs to...more
Welcome to Jenner & Block’s Government Contracts Legal Round‑Up, a biweekly update on important government contracts developments. This update offers brief summaries of key developments for government contracts legal,...more
Most of the time the low bidder will win a government contract. But not always. Sometimes a federal agency will make an award on a best-value trade-off basis. This process can be used “when it may be in the best interest of...more
Over the last few years, the government has shifted away from lowest price technically acceptable valuations placing a larger importance on past performance. The past performance requirement can sometimes create obstacles for...more
I have handled more than one hundred prevailing wage cases, including dozens where the contractor allegedly violated the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act (PWA). Many times, the employer will assert that it was unaware that the...more
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 includes a short but interesting provision reminding the Department of Defense (DoD) that the unilateral insertion of a new clause in a DoD contract is a change that may entitle...more
In 2022, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued six bid protest decisions worthy of particular note. - ASRC Federal Data Solutions LLC - ESimplicity Inc. v. U.S. -...more
The number of bid protest filings peaks in October as a result of increased government spending at the end of the government’s fiscal year — which is the 12-month period beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30...more
As a general matter, an agency should reject a bid out of hand if it is deemed defective due to problems with bidder responsiveness. However, flawed bids determined on account of issues with bidder responsibility can be...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in SEKRI, Inc. v. United States, recently added to the growing body of case law that has declined to extend the scope of the Blue & Gold waiver rule...more
Last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a Florida grand jury indicted three men for conspiring to rig bids for customized promotional products to the U.S. Army and charged two of them with conspiring to...more
In a post earlier this year, I discussed a significant split between the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO has long held that email bid submissions, which do not arrive on time...more
To what extent does a completed or imminent corporate transaction affect a government contractor's ability to compete for award of an opportunity in its pipeline? What steps can a contractor take to prevent a contemplated...more
An interesting new bid protest decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims articulates a rule for pre-award key personnel unavailability that is very different from the one employed by the U.S. Government Accountability...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 7, 2021, that a North Carolina engineering firm agreed to pay a $7 million fine and $1.5 million in restitution after pleading guilty to engaging in bid rigging and fraud...more
On June 7, 2021, as part of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) continuing commitment to prosecuting cases where the government is a victim, a government contractor pleaded guilty to one count of bid-rigging and one count of...more