Link: GAO Decision
Protestor: Triad Logistics Services Corporation
Agency: Government Accountability Office
Disposition: Request for Reconsideration Denied.
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GAO Digest:
Decision denying protest is affirmed on reconsideration where protester fails to demonstrate that decision erred in requiring protester to demonstrate prejudice.
General Counsel PC Highlight:
Triad Logistics Services Corporation requested that the GAO reconsider its decision denying Triad’s protest of the award to Shilo Services, Incorporated of a contract for transient aircraft services. The agency’s decision to request revised proposals had delayed the procurement, reducing the base period from nine months to seven months. To account for this reduction, the agency evaluated price based on a 55 month period of performance, rather than the announced 57 months. Triad challenged award to Shilo on the ground that the agency failed to both amend the solicitation to reflect the reduced base period of performance, and to obtain revised pricing based on the reduced base period of performance. The GAO denied the protest, pointing out that Triad did not assert that it would have reduced its unit pricing by an amount that would have overcome Shilo’s price advantage.
The GAO held that the arguments made by Triad in its request for reconsideration were available during the initial protest, but were not made at that time. It found that Triad could have argued that prejudice would have occurred based on Triad’s belief that offerors would raise their pricing in response to a two month reduction of the base period. The GAO also pointed out that Triad failed to explain why Triad would not commensurately raise its pricing, such that its evaluated price would remain higher than Shilo’s evaluated price.
The GAO will only reconsider its decisions if the prior decision contained errors of law or fact, or if the protestor presents new information, not considered in the prior decision, that warrants the reversal or modification of the prior decision. The GAO will not consider arguments that were available to the protestor at the time of initial protest. Furthermore, protestors requesting reconsideration must also remember that prejudice is an essential element throughout the protest process, and failure to assert prejudice will be fatal to a claim.