Roshan D. Shah Successful in $35M+ Bid Protest for Defense Contract Firm

Roshan D. Shah Successful in $35M+ Bid Protest for Defense Contract Firm

Lyndhurst, NJ, September 13, 2018 — Scarinci Hollenbeck successfully represented AASKI Technology, Inc. (“AASKI”) in a bid protest before the Government Accountability Office (GAO), preserving the company’s award to provide technical support services to the U.S. Army. BANC3, Inc., the current incumbent, protested the award, challenging the agency’s evaluation of proposals. On September 10, 2018, the GAO rejected BANC3’s protest and upheld the award to AASKI, clearing the way for the Tinton Falls contractor to begin work on a $35+ million Department of Defense contract.

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RFP Issued by the Army

On August 23, 2017, the Army issued an RFP to provide all personnel, supplies, and services necessary to perform research and development in support of the United States Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), Command Power and Integration (CP&I) Directorate. The RFP contemplated an award based on the best-value tradeoff methodology using the following factors: technical, past performance, and cost/price. On June 7, 2018, the Army awarded the contract to AASKI.

BANC3, Inc. protested, arguing, among other things, that the Army improperly found its proposal to be technically unacceptable. BANC3 later filed a supplemental protest arguing that AASKI and the second-place offeror should have been disqualified because they failed to submit the proper number of resumes for Key Personnel. AASKI intervened in the protest.

AASKI Retains Contract Award 

After briefing from BANC3, AASKI and the agency, the GAO denied the protest. The GAO found that BANC3’s contention that the RFP required resumes for 16 Key Personnel was unreasonable. Citing the plain terms of the RFP and the Question & Answers, the GAO found that only nine resumes were necessary. In addition, the GAO found the Army correctly found BANC3’s proposal to be technically unacceptable due to its failure to address the computer specialist position for content management and graphic design support. Because the technically unacceptable rating effectively disqualified BANC3 from competition, the GAO found that it was not an interested party to raise its remaining challenges.

Scarinci Hollenbeck Counsel Roshan D. Shah represented AASKI Technology, Inc. in this matter. Mr. Shah successfully represented AASKI in another bid protest before the GAO in 2016.

For the full decision, see Matter of BANC3, Inc.