00621555

Component

An increasingly common problem facing persons charged with the responsibility for the advertising, award, and execution of public construction contracts is that of dealing with protests and claims asserted by disappointed bidders seeking to disqualify another bidder from being awarded the contract, seeking to challenge disqualification of itself as the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, or seeking damages for misaward to another bidder. In spite of the nearly universal rule that the laws requiring that public construction contracts be awarded by competitive bidding are for the benefit of the public, not the bidders, a framework for judicial review of contract awards has developed in most state and federal courts. With limited time within which to evaluate bid proposals and protests, the public agency must frequently make its decision regarding a questioned bid without the luxury of exhaustive fact-finding and deliberation, knowing that, in many cases, whatever decision is made will result in litigation initiated by one or the other of the bidders being considered for award. Although in most cases the initial issue (if not the only issue) is that of which of two bidders shall be awarded the contract, that issue has the potential of substantially increasing the contract price, of causing substantial delay in the commencement and, consequently, the completion of the work, and of requiring that the project be readvertised. Further, in the event award has already been made, there exists the potential of liability for damages to a bidder whose bid was wrongfully rejected. These and other issues are discussed in this paper.

Page range: 1230-N1 through 1230-N31.

Addendum 5

31 p.

1991-11

Selected Studies in Highway Law

Bids; Competitive bidding; Contracts; Governments; Highway law; Liability

Administration and Management; Highways; Law; I10: Economics and Administration

TRIS, TRB

Apr 30 1992 12:00AM

• CIVIL RICO APPLICATIONS IN THE HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
• LABOR STANDARDS IN FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS: SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
• SUSPENSION, DEBARMENT AND DISQUALIFICATION OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS