ARTICLE · 11 AUGUST 2014

The Unrecognized Sole-Source Requirement: A Lesson In Failing To Understand The Specifications

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

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The CBCA denied a contractor's claims for defective specifications when the performance specification at issue created a sole-source requirement.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector

In the recent decision of CMEC/ARC Electric JV v. Dep't of Veterans Affairs, the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) denied a contractor's claims for defective specifications when the performance specification at issue created a sole-source requirement.

The appeal involved a contract to replace and upgrade generators at the Spokane VA Medical Center. The contract included a performance specification to install a digital HVAC control system. Importantly, the specification required that one database be used to operate the entire system. After the award of the contract, the contractor identified a solution that would utilize two separate databases. The VA rejected this solution, and the contractor submitted a request for equitable adjustment (REA) on the grounds that the requirement for a single database amounted to a sole-source requirement. In essence, the contractor argued that because only one control system would work under the specification, it was entitled

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