SBA sometimes makes mistakes in the 8(a) application process, but the appeals process may be able to remedy those miscues. Recently, an applicant appealed the SBA’s denial of her 8(a) status based on net worth. She argued that the SBA Area Office had double counted the value of her rental property, which automatically disqualified her from being found economically disadvantaged.
SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) agreed and remanded the denial decision.
Continue readingAs I’m sure most other attorneys can commiserate with, I often have a recurring nightmare that I miss a filing deadline. Doing so can lead to terrible results: dismissed cases and, in some cases, sanctions against the attorney. For this reason, we always check, double-check, and triple-check our filing deadlines, and strive to file documents early, when possible.
Given my fear, I gain no pleasure in reading about missed filing deadlines, especially when the goof is the subject of a matter outside the attorney’s control.
But as a recent decision by the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals demonstrates, even the most sympathetic of excuses won’t excuse a late appeal filing.
Continue readingJust like one word answers don’t work with your mom (who you should call this Sunday!), one sentence CVE Appeals don’t usually work for OHA. In one recent case, Secure2ware, Inc., SBA No. CVE-111 (Apr. 18, 2019), OHA provided reminders about what CVE Database appeals must include.
Continue readingContracting officers are given significant discretion in choosing NAICS codes for procurements. But, as decision makers, they aren’t infallible. As a recent OHA case shows, using the NAICS Manual can help small business contractors challenge an incorrect NAICS code.
Continue readingLet’s suppose that you, a small business, were previously awarded a long-term contract set aside for small businesses. But over the past few years, business has been good and you’ve outgrown the size standard assigned to the contract. Can you still be awarded a task order under the contract? Yes–if the contracting officer doesn’t require you to recertify your size in connection with the task order request, and no contract-specific terms–like mandatory off-ramps–say otherwise.
This important principle recently played out in DNT Solutions, LLC et al., SBA No. SIZ-5962 (2018).