GAO Presents A Study In Timeliness Traps

In a decision released on Friday, February 23, 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) provided further demonstration of the bid protest – timeliness traps that may ensnare the wary and unwary alike. In Savannah River Technology & Remediation, LLC; Fluor Westinghouse Liquid Waste Services, LLC, B-415637 et al., Feb. 8, 2018, ___ CPD ¶ ___, the GAO found a number of the protesters' arguments to be untimely for two separate reasons, both of which serve as important lessons to future protesters.

First, the GAO at least partially resurrected the concept that protest grounds first learned of during discussions can be untimely if not raised until after award. In this case, the GAO noted that the agency had sent identical information to all of the offerors relating to how the agency intended to evaluate past performance and experience where the offeror was a limited liability corporation. In this regard, the GAO provided a long quote from the discussions letter