A procuring agency erred by failing to seek clarification of obvious errors in an offeror’s proposal, according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

In Level 3 Communications, LLC v. United States, No. 16-829 (2016), the Court held that although a Contracting Officer has discretion over whether to seek clarification of a proposal, this discretion is not unlimited. By failing to clarify obvious errors, the Contracting Officer’s decision was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.

The decision builds on a 2013 case, BCPeabody Construction Services, Inc., No. 13-378C (2013), in which the Court reached a similar conclusion. But so far, the GAO has drawn a hard line, essentially holding that an agency’s discretion in this area is unlimited.

Under the terms of the solicitation, the Defense Systems Information Agency (DISA) sought construction and maintenance of a Structured, High Availability Telecommunications Circuit between Wiesbaden, Germany and Arifjan, Kuwait. The solicitation requested offers for a fixed-price, indefinite-term delivery order for telecommunications, installation, service, and maintenance for an estimated 60-month period.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/u-s-court-of-federal-claims/federal-court-again-says-agency-erred-by-not-clarifying-proposal-errors/