February 2, 2016
CPAR Challenge Wasn’t A Viable “Protest,” Says Federal Court
Source: SmallGovCon, Steven Koprince, January 11, 2016
A contractor’s attempt to challenge an adverse Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR) was not a bid protest subject to the bid protest jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
In a recent decision, the Court rejected a protester’s creative attempt to challenge a CPAR as part of a bid protest. Instead, the Court held, a CPAR ordinarily must be challenged through the FAR’s claims and appeals processes–although the Court appeared to leave the door open to bid protest challenges in limited circumstances.
The Court’s decision in ITility, LLC v. United States, No. 15-237C (2016) involved a past performance evaluation ITility, LLC received from the U.S. Air Force under a program management support contract. After various disputes arose, the Air Force issued a stop work order and allowed the period of performance to expire. The Air Force subsequently issued an interim CPAR report concerning the contract. The CPAR presumably rated ITility’s performance negatively (the actual rating is redacted from the Court’s decision).
As was its right, ITility filed comments on the interim CPAR, stating that the rating was erroneous and that the Air Force was to blame for the issues that had arisen under the contract. After reviewing ITility’s comments, the Air Force issued a final version of the CPAR, which softened some of the original language, but did not amend the actual ratings. Read More …
What could this mean for your business? Contact your nearest PTAC for more information.
Keep up to date – follow us on Twitter, LinkedIN or Facebook!
For help with Government Contracting: contact your nearest Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). Funded through Cooperative Agreements between the U.S. Department of Defense and state and local governments/institutions, PTACs provide free and low-cost assistance in virtually all areas of government contracting.