Was the Government Procurement Process for Your Bid Properly Applied? What are Your Options? Theodore P Watson, Esq. Federal government agencies tend to use the best value contracting procurement process as the preferred proposal evaluation criteria. The idea is to use taxpayer dollars to buy the best quality and value of… Read more »
The Area Office (“AO”) has discretion to apply the adverse inference rule once the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has received a size protest or a request for a formal small business size determination. 13 CFR 121.1008(d); 13 CFR 121.1009(d). The rule will likely be applied if the protestor fails to offer the… Read more »
A board of contract appeal has the authority to impose sanctions, including government sanctions, on parties for unacceptable behavior. While boards do not have the authority to impose monetary sanctions, federal courts, such as the Court of Federal Claims, can. When a board imposes either contractor or government sanctions, the sanction… Read more »
SBA Common management and identity of interest disputes in size protest cases involve complex SBA affiliation regulations, that if violated can impact your ability to bid on future government contracts. The following are pointers derived from the SBA. A basic understanding can help you avoid costly mistakes, such as common management… Read more »
Ostensible Subcontractor Rule: Primary and Vital Contract Requirements By Theodore P. Watson, Esq. and Cheryl E. Adams, Esq. Prime’s Management of the Project is Critical When your company bids on a federal government contract as a small business, prime contractor management of the project under the ostensible agreement is essential… Read more »
When it comes to unduly restrictive language and government protests, to prevail in litigation, you first must understand the parameters in which the government contract write its requests for proposals. Many contractors wonder whether the government can unduly restrict competition. “Unduly restrictive Solicitations” means that you are challenging both the restrictive… Read more »
When a government agency submits a request for proposal (“RFP”), the agency can make amendments and changes to the government solicitation requirements. The Federal Acquisition Regulation permits agencies to request revised government proposals, even where the original awardee’s price has been disclosed. Jackson Contractor Grp., B-402348.2 (2010). Agency Discretion with… Read more »
To get a government contract claim excused from performance due to defense to breach of contract of impossibility or commercial impracticability, you must inform the contracting officer early in the process. You cannot wait until the case is at the appeals level to bring it up. Failure to follow this simple… Read more »
Awards for Native American government contracts to super 8(a) tribal entities and Alaskan Native Corporations (ANC 8a Contracts) have become a serious issue for non-native American contractors. According to a GAO study, federal dollars obligated to tribal 8(a) companies grew from $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2005 to $5.5 billion… Read more »
The lowest price technically acceptable source selection process (LPTA) is commonly used by government contracting agencies when best value is expected to result from selection of the technically acceptable proposal with the lowest evaluated price. Many solicitations are now advertised as using the lowest cost technically acceptable source selection process. Agencies… Read more »