Bid Protests

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When submitting a bid for a public construction project, a contractor is typically required to submit a bid bond along with its bid. A bid bond is a written agreement under which a surety agrees to pay a specific amount to the owner if the contractor refuses to enter into a contract for the project.

In other words, if a contractor does not honor its bid that included a bid bond, the surety will usually be required to pay for the owner’s excess reprocurement costs. Those costs may included the difference in price between the low bid and the next lowest bidder along with the owner’s administrative reprocurement costs.Continue Reading The Importance of Submitting a Proper Bid Bond

This is the third post in a five-part series about the most common reasons for winning GAO bid protests. The third most common reason for winning a bid protest is when an agency fails to follow the evaluation criteria stated in a solicitation for proposals.

As an example, in McGoldrick Construction Services Corporation, B- 409252.2 (Comp.Gen Mar. 28, 2014), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a solicitation for construction and maintenance services. The proposal was structured as a two-phase evaluation. In the first phase, the bidders would be whittled down to a few qualified bidders that would compete for the award in the second phase.Continue Reading Construction Bid Protests – Failure to Follow Evaluation Criteria

The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) releases an annual report to Congress. In the report, the GAO lists the most common reasons for sustaining bid protests, which vary from year to year. There are usually about five reasons bid protests are successful.
Continue Reading The Five Most Common Reasons for Winning GAO Bid Protests—Part 2: Unreasonable Past Performance Evaluation

When a contractor decides to file a bid protest to challenge the award of a federal construction project to another contractor, there are three options for where to file the bid protest: (1) at the agency level, (2) the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), or (3) the United States Court of Federal Claims. There are strengths and weaknesses associated with each of the above options. Many contractors like to file their bid protest with the GAO because it is a relatively inexpensive way to obtain a quick, independent determination regarding the merits of the bid protest. One significant weakness, however, is that the agency may decline to implement the GAO’s recommendation.
Continue Reading When Winning a Bid Protest Still Means You Lose

The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) releases an annual report to Congress. In the report, the GAO lists the most common reasons for sustaining bid protests, which vary from year to year. There are usually about five reasons bid protests are successful.
Continue Reading The Five Most Common Reasons for Winning GAO Bid Protests—Part 1: Unreasonable Cost or Price Evaluation