Cascading Errors Render A Source Selection Decision Vulnerable Report No. B-414650.1; B-414650.14 (May 21, 2018)

By Carol O’Riordan and Alexis Ferruccio A recent GAO decision demonstrates that when contemporaneous documentation shows evaluators made errors, the Source Selection Authority (SSA) award decision is at risk. Ace Info challenged the evaluation of Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Request for Quotations (RFQ) for information technology operations support services (ITOSS) under EAGLE II.  Ace...

Standing and Mootness at the COFC

By Grace Mahan  In order to bring claims in front of both the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, protesters must be interested parties with Article III standing. As a result, both of these tribunals may dismiss a protest on the grounds that it is moot. In a recent case, Coast Professional,...

The SBA’s Guide to the Ostensible Contractor Rule

By Grace Mahan In a recent size appeal decision, Emergent, Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5875, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA) reinforced the criteria it uses to evaluate the “ostensible subcontractor” rule. The rule provides that when a prime contractor is unusually reliant on a subcontractor or when a subcontractor is...

Agencies Set to Plan Regulatory Changes in 2014

Corporate Counsel magazine recently reported  that 24 federal agencies and departments have released their regulatory “to-do lists” for the first half of 2014. For example, the magazine reports, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is planning to begin working on Dodd–Frank reporting rules for financial institutions that receive credit applications from female- or minority-owned businesses. All...

D.C. Circuit: OSHA Can Fine General Contractors for Sub’s Safety Violations

A Dec. 14, 2011, ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit greatly expanded a general contractor’s exposure for a subcontractor’s safety violations when working on a multi-employer construction site. While the multi-employer worksite liability doctrine has been applied in other jurisdictions, this case, Summit Contractors, Inc. v. Secretary of Labor and...

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