Tag Archives: Court of Federal Claims decisions

Agency Erred By Not Clarifying Clerical Error, Says Federal Court

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A procuring agency erred by failing to seek clarification of an obvious clerical error in a small business’s proposal, according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

In BCPeabody Construction Services, Inc., No. 13-378C (2013), the Court held that although procuring agencies have discretion as to whether to clarify clerical mistakes, that discretion is not unlimited–and that failing to clarify an obvious mistake may be an abuse of discretion.  It’s a ruling that should be cheered by small government contractors.

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Strange, But True: Contractor Protests Its Own Award

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Here’s one you don’t see every day: a contractor, complaining that the government was unfairly holding it to outdated pricing, attempted to protest its own award.

No dice, according to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, which dismissed the protest on jurisdictional grounds.

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BPAs Are Not Contracts–So “Tough Luck” For Terminated BPA Holder

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A company’s blanket purchase agreement with the U.S. Forest Service was not a “contract,” meaning that the company had no ability to file a complaint with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for an alleged improper termination of the BPA.

In dismissing the complaint on technical grounds, the Court’s message to the terminated company was, in essence, “tough luck.”

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Subcontracting Ambiguity Results in Proposal Downgrade

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In a recent case, a federal court held that a procuring agency properly downgraded an offeror’s proposal because the proposal was ambiguous as to how much of the contract work the offeror intended to subcontract.

According to the Court, even though the amount to be subcontracted was small in any event, the ambiguity meant that the procuring agency reasonably questioned whether the offeror understood the requirements of the solicitation.

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Federal Court: Small Business Set-Aside Threshold “Purposefully Low”

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The FAR’s threshold for meeting the so-called “Rule of Two” for small business set-asides is “purposefully low,” according to a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

In Adams & Associates, Inc. v. The United States, No. 12-731C (2013), the Court rejected a challenge to a small business set-aside, holding in part that a contracting officer need not conduct a thorough responsibility evaluation of prospective small business offerors before issuing a set-aside.

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SDVOSB Eligibility Not Affected By Ownership Transfer Restriction, Says Federal Court

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As many service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses have discovered, the VA CVE believes that so-called “right of first refusal” provisions prevent veterans from freely selling or transferring their ownership interests.  Because such transfer restrictions are commonplace in standard corporate bylaws and operating agreements, countless SDVOSBs have been denied VA CVE verification for including them.

Those days may be over.

In a decision released to the public late last week, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held that the VA OSDBU had erred by sustaining a SDVOSB eligibility protest on the basis of the company’s right of first refusal provision.  That decision, Miles Construction, LLC v. United States, No. 12-597C (2013), also includes other important rulings on the scope of “unconditional” ownership and the VA OSDBU’s evaluation of SDVOSB eligibility protests.

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VA CVE Verification: Federal Court Rules Veteran Can “Control” SDVOSB Remotely

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In an important decision impacting many SDVOSB verification applicants, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has held that the VA’s SDVOSB regulations did not prevent a service-disabled veteran from controlling his company remotely.

In KWV, Inc. v. United States, No. 12-882C (2013), the Court held that a veteran could control his Rhode Island-based construction company by electronic means, even though the veteran spent half of the year residing in Florida.

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