Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85916
InCourt by Brian Morrow A case of responsiveness and balance in a contract recent case regarding the Army Corp of Engineers' improper rejection of a low bid — Matter of W. B. Construction and Sons, Inc. (Jan. 4, 2012) — highlights can be invalidated at any time at the election of the bidder or the government. An "unbalanced bid" is a unit price bid that con- important rules regarding bid responsiveness and unbal- anced bids. Government contracts — federal, state and local — may only be awarded to contrac- tors who submit bids that are "responsive" to the material requirements of the invitation for bids (IFB). The respon- siveness of a bid focuses on the mandatory requirements of the IFB and any governing statutes. Minor deviations may be waived, but material devia- tions may not. A deviation is "material" if it gives the bid- der a competitive advantage and prevents other bidders from competing on the same footing. A materially non-responsive bid gives the bidder "two bites at the apple" because the contract 9a May 2012 Better Roads Unbalanced bids typically result discrepancies from the bidder's discovery of apparent between estimated unit prices tains abnormally low unit prices for some items, and abnormally high unit prices for other items. The government may reject an unbalanced bid as non- responsive because of the potential risk the unbalanced bid would not result in the lowest total cost. Unbalanced bids typically result from the bidder's discovery of ap- parent discrepancies between esti- mated unit price quantities in the IFB and the bidder's own estimated quantities; the bidder's desire to "front-end load" the payment schedule; or the bidder's mistaken bid. An unbalanced bid is not necessarily illegal, but must be ana- lyzed to confirm it is the low bid and will not materially unbalance Low Bid? A the payment schedule. In a recent decision by the Comptroller General, Matter of W. B. Construction and Sons, Inc., the Better Roads February 2012 9