Bid Protests

A recent GAO protest decision, Wright Brothers Aero, Inc., B-423326.2, July 7, 2025, provides contractors with a helpful reminder of the risks posed by delaying a protest, even if the contractor believes that they do not “definitively” know of a basis for protest. GAO’s Bid Protest Regulations contain strict rules regarding timeliness, and disappointed...

Congress established the Government Accountability Office in 1921 to act as a source of objective, non-partisan information on government operations, most importantly, the executive branch. This authority extends to the review of federal government contracts—whether federally appropriated funds are being properly spent and whether procurements are being conducted fairly so as to bring the...

The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Percipient.AI, Inc. v. United States represents a major development in its case law regarding bid protest standing and task order protest jurisdiction.  In the decision—which has rightly received significant attention this month—a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that Percipient, which...

Would you view the acquisition of COVID-19 tests as an “urgent and compelling” reason to depart from full and open competition? The Court of Federal Claims had an opportunity to weigh in on this notion when  Comprehensive Health Services, LLC (“CHS”) protested an award and challenged a decision of the Federal Emergency Management Agency...

On February 16, 2021, a COFC judge dismissed DynCorp’s bid protest of a $717.5 million dollar Army intelligence support order because the COFC lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. DynCorp argued that CACI Technologies was ineligible for the award because CACI Technologies restructured from a corporation to a limited liability company during the procurement...

One of the main reasons why contractors choose to file bid protests at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is the automatic stay of performance required by the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) – more commonly known as a “CICA stay.” The Competition in Contracting Act requires the contracting officer to immediately stay performance if...