The Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) of 1984 establishes a procedure that effectively pauses performance of a federal contract award during a bid protest. If a disappointed bidder files a protest with the Government...more
Timing is everything when it comes to bid protests at GAO. There is a mountain of GAO case law dismissing untimely protests. Contractors must strictly follow GAO’s regulations to avoid that fate and obtain a Competition...more
On January 21, in MVL, Inc., et al. v. United States, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) struck down a 2022 Executive Order (EO), as well as the implementing Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), signed by then-President...more
In a recent decision, the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) ruled on bid protests filed by 12 construction companies challenging the implementation of a February 4, 2022, Executive Order 14063 that mandated the use of project...more
On January 21, 2025, Judge Ryan T. Holte of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims issued a decision finding now former-President Biden’s February 4, 2022, Executive Order 14063 (EO) and the resulting Federal Acquisition...more
On January 21, 2025, the Court of Federal Claims issued an order that, in effect, invalidates President Joe Biden’s February 4, 2022 Executive Order (14063) and 48 C.F.R. Subpart 22.5, Use of Project Labor Agreements for...more
On November 18, the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") released its much-anticipated Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2024, which was submitted to Congress on November 14. GAO's annual report is...more
A recent decision, Independent Rough Terrain Center, LLC v. United States (“IRTC”),[1] confirms the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has jurisdiction over bid protests related to follow-on production contracts arising out of...more
Bid protests of other transaction agreements, also known as “OTs” or “OTAs,” are a common topic for this blog. These federal agreements differ from your everyday procurement contracts in that they are not subject to the...more
The origination of Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) traces back to the October 1957 launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union and the subsequent Space Race. Congress created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued its annual bid protest report. As discussed below, this year’s report is noteworthy for multiple reasons, including that it shows that protesters received some form...more
There has been significant uncertainty as to where a company can protest an Other Transaction (“OT”) award. As we previously reported, cases such as SpaceX, MD Helicopter, and Kinemetrics have provided useful data points. The...more
This month’s bid protest roundup focuses on two recent decisions by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and one decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“Court”). ...more
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has just locked in its Enhanced Postaward Debriefing procedures, making it easier for contractors to understand the source selection and contract award process and make informed bid...more
The General Services Administration’s Federal Supply Schedule contracts are an efficient method for agencies across the Government to meet their needs for many commercially available supplies and services. For requirements...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), in Sierra Nevada Corporation v. United States, recently held that a contracting agency’s justification of a sole-source contract award ran afoul of the Competition in Contracting Act...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in Spartan Medical, Inc., B-419503, recently clarified the scope of its jurisdiction over bid protests involving an agency's use of its other transaction agreement (OTA) authority....more
As we previously discussed in a 2019 blog post, since 2018 Bass, Berry & Sims Government Contracts and Litigation attorneys have successfully defended B&O JV in a host of challenges to an 8(a) small business set-aside award...more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in Spartan Medical, Inc., B-419503, recently clarified the scope of its jurisdiction over bid protests involving an agency’s use of its other transaction agreement (OTA) authority....more
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Nika Technologies, Inc. v. United States provides an important clarification of the timeliness rules for filing a bid protest with the U.S. Government...more
Disappointed government contractors and their legal counsel weigh the benefits of filing bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) versus the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). One of the key benefits to filing...more
Contractors and contractor teams competing for set-aside contracts should internalize the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) compliance lesson imparted by a recent Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) protest decision...more
WHAT: On February 4, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) reversed a Court of Federal Claims (COFC) judge’s ruling in a decision that clarifies what a contractor must do to preserve the right to stop...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirms that a protester seeking to avail itself of the statutory “automatic stay” of performance in connection with a GAO bid protest must file that protest within five days...more
The automatic stay of award is one of the key elements of a bid protest under the Competition in Contracting Act. The CICA stay is only available when a protest is filed no later than ten days after contract award or no later...more