Latent Ambiguities and Non-Apparent Solicitation Defects (Post-Award Protest Primer #9)
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- Having discussed protest grounds you cannot or should not raise ( here and here ), we turn now to the first in a series of grounds that could result in a sustained protest: Latent Ambiguities and Non-Apparent Solicitation Defects. We’ve previously noted the rule... ›
Substantively Non-Protestable Issues (Post-Award Protest Primer #8)
By: James A. Tucker
In our last post, we discussed a few procedural rules that can exclude an otherwise meritorious ground from protest. There are also a number of substantive issues that the GAO’s rules exclude from review. See 4 C.F.R. § 21.5. We address them below, plus a... ›NAICS Code Appeals: One Size Does Not Fit All
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
The federal government sets aside many contracts for small businesses, but not all small business set-asides are created equal. Instead, different size standards define small business status for different procurements. The size standards vary from industry to industry, so a given firm may be... ›Winning the Corrective Action, and Using Clarifications Instead of Discussions
By: J. Alex Ward and James A. Tucker
In a recent Protest Roundup , we discussed Dell Federal Systems, LP v. United States , 2017 WL 2981811 (Fed. Cl. July 3, 2017), a case in which a contractor successfully challenged the scope of the voluntary corrective action an agency took in response... ›Procedurally Non-Protestable Issues (Post-Award Protest Primer #7)
By: James A. Tucker
Before diving into the various protest grounds that may result in a sustained protest at the GAO, let’s look at some sure losers. These are issues that are not protestable and would likely result in a quick dismissal. This week, we’ll discuss procedurally defective protests. Our next... ›Stays of Contract Award and Performance (Post-Award Protest Primer #6)
By: James A. Tucker
Today we’ll discuss stays of award and performance during the pendency of a bid protest. There are two kinds of protest stays: pre-award stays and post-award stays. Although the former are outside the scope of this primer, we’ll briefly address them first for the... ›GAO Protective Orders (Post-Award Protest Primer #5)
By: James A. Tucker
Post-award protests generally involve arguments about confidential, source-selection sensitive information – proprietary bid and proposal material, past performance data, cost and pricing information, nonpublic agency estimates, and the judgments of agency evaluators and source selection personnel. Neither the government nor the competitors want that... ›Bid Protest Remedies (Post-Award Protest Primer #4)
By: James A. Tucker
We’ve discussed debriefings and the timelines and timeliness rules that apply to post-award protests. Today we’ll discuss remedies. If you file a protest to challenge a contract award and you win the protest, that means you win the contract, right? Well, certainly not immediately.... ›Timeliness and Timelines (Post-Award Protest Primer #3)
By: James A. Tucker
Now that we’ve discussed the award letter and debriefings , we’ll move on to next steps: timeliness of initial protest filings and the protest timeline. In the context of all post-award debriefings, there are two timeliness considerations: First, meeting the GAO’s timeliness requirements and, second, whether... ›Debriefings (Post-Award Protest Primer #2)
By: James A. Tucker
You just received an email: “We appreciate your interest in the XYZ procurement. The Agency determined that your proposal did not represent the best value to the Government. Award has been made to Acme Corp. at a price of $50,000,000.” After kicking your trashcan... ›