October 8, 12:00-1:00pm ET

In PCI’s October 8 Case of the Month Club, our experts will discuss two recent protest decisions of great interest.  The first case we will cover, Oak Grove Technologies, LLC v. United States, 2024 WL 4138392, (September 11, 2024, Fed. Cir.), is a tour of several issues that frequently arise in connection with negotiated procurements (e.g., improper evaluation, an alleged OCI, failure to conduct discussions), but, perhaps most importantly, it also involves the Government’s appeal of sanctions (rarely imposed) that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims imposed on the Government for failure to submit a full administrative record at the COFC.   A careful reading of this case also will serve as a reminder that the job of a Government contracting officer can be quite challenging, and that proper documentation remains a C.O.’s greatest weapon.  The second case, Knudsen Systems, Inc., B-422433.2, Aug. 9, 2024, 2024 CPD ¶ 190, serves as yet another reminder of the obligations agencies now have to conduct adequate market research in connection with every procurement.  In Knudsen, the Navy’s market research was based on a fatally-flawed assumption that the “non-manufacturer rule” had been waived.  When the Navy later learned that no such waiver applied, it failed to update its market research and simply plowed ahead.  As the GAO makes clear in its decision, that dog will not hunt.  As always, we strongly recommend that you read both cases before our program begins.  Join us on Oct. 8 for this fascinating discussion!