A procuring agency was entitled to evaluate proposals during the course of a pre-award GAO bid protest without violating the automatic stay provision of the Competition in Contracting Act.
According to a recent federal court decision, CICA merely prohibits the award of a contract during the course of a GAO protest, but does not prevent an agency from continuing to evaluate proposals.
The decision of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Caddell Construction Co., LLC v. United States, Nos. 15-135 C & 15-136 C (2015) involved a State Department solicitation to construct embassy facilities in Mozambique. Caddell Construction Co., Inc. filed two pre-award GAO protests challenging the pre-qualification of two of its competitors.
While the GAO was in the process of evaluating the protests, Caddell learned that the agency was continuing to evaluate proposals while it awaited the GAO’s decisions. Caddell filed an action in the Court of Federal Claims, arguing that the agency was violating the CICA automatic stay provision.
Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/agencies-may-evaluate-proposals-during-gao-protests-says-court/
