# I n th e U n i te d S ta te s C o ur t o f F ed er a l 

# C l a i m s

N o

. 1 2

- 7 2 8 C ( F i l e d F e b r u a r y 1 5

, 2 0 1 3 )

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

R E D R I V E R C O M M U N I C A T I O N S , I N C

. , P l a i n t i f f

,

v

.

T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S ,

D e f e n d a n t

.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

* P o s t

- a w a r d b i d p r o t e s t ; 2 8
U .S .C . § 1 4 9 1 (b )(1 ) (2 0 0 6 );

p erm an en t in

j u n ctiv e relief

;

w h eth er w aiv er ru le u n d er B lu e & G o ld F leet, L .P . v . U n ited
S tates, 4 9 2 F .3 d 1 3 0 8 (F ed . C ir.
2 0 0 7 ), ap p lies to n o n -b id d er o r

o f f ero r; p ro test b ar o n task

o rd ers p u rsu an t to th e F ed eral
A cq u isitio n S tream lin in g A ct, 1 0 U .S .C . § 2 0 3 4 c(e) (S u p p . V
2 0 1 1 ).

Jo h n ath an M . B ailey , S an A n to n io , T X , f o r p lain tif

f

.

S h aro n A

. S n y d er, Wash in g t o n , D C

, w ith w h o m w as P rin cip al D ep u ty A ssistan t A tto rn ey G en eral S tu art F

. D elery

, f o r d ef en d an t. M a r v i n K

. G i b b s , J o i n t B a s e A n d r e w s A i r F o r c e , C a m p S p r i n g s , M D

, o f c o u n s e l

.

M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N A N D O R D E R

M IL L E R , Ju d g e.

T h i s c a se is b ef

o re th e co u rt af

ter arg u m en t an d su p p lem en tal b rief in g o n cro ssm o tio n s f o r j u d g m en t o n th e ad m in istrativ e reco rd

. T h e k ey issu es f o r d ecisio n are w h eth er

a n o n -o f f ero r is su b j ect to th e ru le th at a ch allen g e to a p aten t erro r in a so licitatio n is w aiv ed

u n less it is b ro u g h t to th e co n tractin g o f f icer’s atten tio n p rio r to th e d ead lin e f o r su b m issio n

o f p ro p o sals, see B lu e & G o ld F leet, L .P

. v

. U n ited S tates, 4 9 2 F .3 d 1 3 0 8 (F ed

. C ir. 2 0 0 7 ),

an d w h eth er th e p ro testo r h as ad v an ced an au th o rized ch allen g e to th e sco p e o f a task o rd er
p u rsu an t to th e F ed eral A cq u isitio n S tream lin in g A ct, 1 0 U .S .C

. § 2 3 0 4 c(e) (S u p p

. V 2 0 1 1 ).

F A C T S

P lain tif f R ed R iv er C o m m

u n icatio n s, In c. (“p lain tif f ”), p ro v id ed B ase T eleco m m

u n icatio n s S y stem (“B T S ”) serv ices at T in k er A i r F o rce B ase (“T in k er”) f ro m Ju n e 2 0 0 2 th ro u g h S ep tem b er 2 0 1 2

. C o m

p l. f iled O ct. 2 6

, 2 0 1 2

, ¶¶ 4 -5 ; P l.’s B r. f iled D ec.1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 8 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 3

. P rev io u sly

, th e U n ited S tates A ir F o rce (th e “A ir F o rce”) h ad o b tain ed th o se s erv ices th ro u g h tw o sm all b u sin ess set-asid e
p ro cu rem en ts f

o r w h ich p lain tif

f w as th e su ccessf

u l o f f ero r. C o m

p l. ¶ 5

. O n Ju n e 8

, 2 0 1 2

, th e A ir F o rce issu ed S o lici t a t i o n N o

. F A 8 1 0 1 -1 2 -R -0 0 3 7 (th e “S o licitatio n ”) f o r B T S

serv ices to b e p ro v id ed at T in k er f ro m S ep tem

b er 9

, 2 0 1 2

, to S ep tem

b er 3 0

, 2 0 1 2

, w ith tw o

o n e-y ear o p t i o n p erio d s th ereaf ter, f ro m O cto b er 1

, 2 0 1 2

, to S ep tem b er 3 0

, 2 0 1 3

, an d
O cto b er 1

, 2 0 1 3

, to S ep tem b er 3 0

, 2 0 1 4

. A R 2 5

, 7 1 -2 5 5

. U n lik e th e tw o p rev io u s co n tracts

aw ard ed to p lain tif

f

, th e S o licitatio n w as issu ed as a task o rd e r t o an u m b rella co n tract k n o w n as “N E T C E N T S -1 .” P l.’s B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 6

, 9 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2 , at 1 0

.

N E T C E N T S -1 is a series o f m u ltip le-aw ard in d ef

in ite-d eliv ery , in d ef

in ite-q u an tity (“ID IQ ”) co n tracts, f

o llo w in g th e n u m

b e r i n g co n v en tio n F A 8 7 7 1 -0 4 -D -0 0 0 X

, th ro u g h

w h ich th e A ir F o rce p ro cu res n etw o rk -cen tric teleco m m u n icatio n s eq u ip m en t an d serv ices.
P l.’s B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 7 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1 , 2 0 1 2 , at 3

. T h e in itial term o f
N E T C E N T S -1 ran f

ro m S ep tem

b er 1 0

, 2 0 0 4

, to S ep tem

b er 9

, 2 0 0 7

. A R 5 3 4 -3 5 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 8

. T w o o p tio n p erio d s f o llo w ed

, f

ro m S ep tem

b er 1 0

, 2 0 0 7

, to S ep tem b er 9

, 2 0 0 8

, an d f

ro m S ep tem

b er 1 0

, 2 0 0 8

, to S ep tem

b er 9

, 2 0 1 0

. A R 5 3 6

, 5 4 1 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 8

. A f ter ex ercise o f th e tw o o p tio n s, th e o rd erin g p erio d

u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 w as to ex p ire o n S ep tem b er 9

, 2 0 1 1

, w ith p e r f

o rm an ce to b e

co m p leted b y S ep tem

b er 8

, 2 0 1 2

. A R 4 7 5 ; D e f

. ’ s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 8

. T h e A ir
F o rce ex ten d ed th o se p erio d s, so th at th e o rd erin g p erio d ex p ired o n S ep tem b er 9

, 2 0 1 2

, an d th e p erf o rm an ce p erio d ex p ired o n S ep tem b er 8 , 2 0 1 4

. A R 4 7 2 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 8

. It w a s d u rin g th is f irst ex ten sio n th at th e A ir F o rce issu ed th e S o licitatio n

. T h ereaf ter, th e A ir F o rce ex ten d ed th e o rd erin g p erio d u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 to M arch 3 1

, 2 0 1 3

, w ith an ad d itio n al o p tio n to ex ten d th e o rd erin g p erio d to S ep tem b er 3 0

, 2 0 1 3

, an d

ex ten d ed th e p erf

o rm an ce p erio d to th e d ate tw o y ears af ter ex p iratio n o f th e o rd erin g
p erio d . A R

5 0 7 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1 , 2 0 1 2 , at 9 -1 0

.

T h e p rio r tw o T in k er B T S co n tracts aw ard ed to p lain tif f w e r e t h e resu lt o f o p en

so u rce so licitatio n s an d w ere n o t aw ard ed as task o rd ers to N E T C E N T S -1 . P l.’s B r. f iled
D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 7 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 3

. B ecau se th e S o licitatio n w as issu ed u n d er N E T C E N T S

- 1

, it w as ad v ertised o n ly th ro u g h th e N E T C E N T S -1 w eb site b eg in n in g o n Ju n e 8

, 2 0 1 2

. P l.’s B r. f i led D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 7 ; D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 3

. T h e S o licitatio n stated th at th e co n tract w as a sm all b u sin es s set-asid e f o r N E T C E N T S -1 co n tract h o ld ers. A R 7 1 ; P l.’s B r. f

iled D ec. 1 1 , 2 0 1 2 , at 7 -8

.

O n Ju n e 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

, an o th er co n tracto r, J.D

. B ro co , L L C (“J.D

. B ro co ”), f iled a N o rth
A m erican In d u stry C lassif icatio n S y stem (“N A IC S ”) co d e ap p eal w ith th e U n ited S tates S m all B u sin ess A d m in istratio n ( t h e “S B A ”), arg u in g th at th e S o licitatio n w as im p ro p erly assig n ed N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0

, f o r “Wired T eleco m m

u n icatio n s C arriers.” A R 9 2 6 -2 8 ;

2P l

. ’ s S u p p l

. A p p ’ x f i l e d J a n

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, a t A 3

. 1 / T h at sa me c o d e h ad b een assig n ed to th e N E T C E N T S -1 co n tracts. P l

. ’ s S u p p l

. A p p ’ x f i l e d J a n

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, a t A 3 . J.D . B ro co arg u ed th at N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0 w as im pr ope r be cau se its d ef

in itio n called f

o r th e o p eratio n an d /o r
p ro v isio n o f ac c e s s t o tran sm issio n f acilities an d in f

rastru ctu re o w n ed o r leased b y th e

co n tracto r, w h ereas th e T in k er teleco m m u n icatio n s sy stem s w ere o w n ed b y th e A ir F o rce. Id

. at A 1 2

. J.D

. B ro co u rg ed th at th e co rrect N A IC S co d e w as 8 1 1 2 1 3

, f o r “C o m m

u n icatio n E q u ip m en t R ep air an d M ain ten an ce.” Id

. at A 3

- 4

. N A I C S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3 d escrib es th e
rep air an d m ain ten an ce o f co m m u n icatio n s eq u ip m en t w ith o u t th e retail o f n ew eq u ip m en t. Id

. at A 1 2 -1 3

. A cco rd in g to J.D

. B ro co , th at d escrip tio n m o re accu rately ch aracterized th e T in k er B T S serv ices. Id

. at A 1 2

. J.D

. B ro co also p o in ted to tw o S B A d ecisio n s f in d in g th at B T S serv ices w ere n o t p ro p erly classif ied u n d er N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0 an d sh o u ld h av e b een classif ied u n d er N A IC S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3

. Id

. at A 1 3 -1 9

. J. D

. B r o c o f u rth er arg u ed th at N E T C E N T S -1 en co m

p a s s e d a f

ar b ro ad er ran g e o f serv ices th an th o se called f o r in th e S o licitatio n . Id . at A 1 9

.

H ad N A IC S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3 b een assig n ed

, J.D

. B ro co alleg ed

, th e A ir F o rce co u ld n o t h av e m ain tain ed th e p ro cu rem en t as a s ma ll b u sin ess set-asid e strictly f o r N E T C E N T S -1

co n tract h o ld ers, as th ere w ere n o t t w o N E T C E N T S -1 co n tract-h o ld in g sm all b u sin esses

m eetin g th e size restrictio n s o f N A IC S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3

. Id

. at A 4

. J.D

. B ro co u rg ed th at, in

o rd er to p ro cu re th e T in k er B T S serv ices th ro u g h a sm all b u sin ess set-asid e, th e A ir F o rce

w as req u ired to u se a d if

f eren t co n tractu al v eh icle an d th at J.D . B ro co w o u ld co m p ete f o r

an y su ch p ro cu rem en t o f

T in k er B T S serv ices. Id

.

R esp o n d in g to J.D

. B ro co ’s ap p eal, th e co n tractin g o f f icer arg u ed th at N A IC S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3 w as im

p ro p er, as it d id n o t p ro v i d e f o r o p eratio n o f T in k er’s telep h o n e sy stem

sw itch an d th e sale o f certain n ew eq u ip m en t. Id

. at A 1 5 6 -5 7

. T h e c o n t r a c t i n g o f f icer f u rth er asserted th at J.D

. B ro co lack ed stan d in g to b rin g th e ap p eal. Id

. at A 1 5 8

. P u rsu an t
to Jan u ary 2 7

, 2 0 0 5 d irectio n b y th e S ecretary o f th e A ir F o rce, sh e d eem ed N E T C E N T S -1

to b e a m an d ato ry p ro cu rem en t so u rce f o r teleco m m

u n icatio n s serv ices su ch as th e T in k er B T S serv ices, an d J.D

. B ro co co u ld n o t su b m it a p ro p o sal b ecau se it w as n o t a N E T C E N T S

1 co n tract h o ld er. Id

. B ecau se J.D

. B ro co co u ld n o t su b m it a p ro p o s a l

, it w as n o t an in terested p arty

w ith stan d in g to ch allen g e th e S o licitatio n . Id

.

J.D . B ro co resp o n d ed th at th e co n tractin g o f f icer h ad n o t q u an tif

ied th e p ro p o rtio n

o f th e co n tract m ad e u p b y n ew eq u ip m en t sales. Id

. at A 1 6 8 -6 9

. J.D

. B ro co h ad co n tacted th e in cu m b en t co n tracto r, p lain tif

f

, w h ich rep resen ted th at n ew eq u ip m en t sales, in clu d in g
rep air p arts, m ad e u p o n ly 2 1 % o f th e p rev io u s co n tract. Id . at A 1 6 9 . In lig h t o f th at lo w

1 / T h e c o u r t o r d e r e d p l a i n t i f f t o f i l e t h e r e c o r d o f J

. D

. B r o c o ’ s S B A a p p e a l a s a

s u p p l e m e n t a l a p p e n d i x t o p l a i n t i f f ’ s b r i e f f

i l e d J a n u a r y 7

, 2 0 1 3

. S e e O r d e r e n t e r e d J a n

. 2 9

, 2 0 1 3

. P l a i n t i f

f d i d s o o n F e b r u a r y 8

, 2 0 1 3

.

3p ercen tag e, co u p led w ith N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0 ’s co n tem p latio n th at th e co n tracto r w o u ld

o w n th e sy stem
, J.D

. B ro co arg u ed th at N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0 w as n o t th e m o st ap p ro p riate

co d e f o r th e S o licitatio n an d th at N A IC S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3 w as. Id

.

O n th e q u estio n o f stan d in g , J.D

. B ro co d isp u ted th e co n tractin g o f f icer’s co n ten tio n th at th e u s e o f N E T C E N T S -1 to p ro cu re th e T in k er B T S serv ices w as m an d ato ry

. Id

. at A 1 6 2 -6 3

. J.D

. B ro co p o in ted o u t th at th e Jan u ary 2 7

, 2 0 0 5 m em o ran d u m cited b y th e

co n tractin g o f

f icer in clu d ed lan g u ag e in d icatin g th at a w aiv er o f th e u se o f N E T C E N T S -1

co u ld b e o b tain ed f

o r an in d iv id u al p ro cu rem en t. Id

. at A 1 6 3

. J.D

. B ro co f u rth er asserted th at th e m em o ran d u m d id n o t h av e th e f o rce o f law an d h ad n o t b een rev iew ed in lig h t o f eith er th e S B A ’s f

in d in g s th at N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0 w as in ap p ro p riate f o r B T S serv ices o r

a 2 0 0 7 D ep artm en t o f

D ef en se In sp ecto r G en eral rep o rt statin g th at N A IC S C o d e 5 1 7 1 1 0

w as in ap p ro p riate f

o r N E T C E N T S -1

. Id

. at A 1 6 3 -6 7

. M o reo v er, J.D

. B ro co stated

, th e A ir
F o rce rep eated ly h ad p ro cu red B T S serv ices at v ario u s in stallatio n s o u tsid e N E T C E N T S -1

. Id

. at A 1 6 7 -6 8

. A cco rd in g ly

, it w as n o t m an d ato ry f o r th e A ir F o rce to p ro cu re th e T in k er B T S serv ices th ro u g h N E T C E N T S -1

, an d J.D

. B ro co h ad stan d in g as a p o ten tial o f f ero r if th e p ro p er N A IC S co d e w ere u sed . Id . at A 1 6 8

.

T h e S B A d ism issed J.D

. B ro co ’s ap p eal f o r lack o f stan d in g o n A u g u s t 7

, 2 0 1 2

,
ru lin g th at J.D

. B ro co co u ld n o t sh o w th at it h ad b een ad v ersely af f ected b y th e classif

icatio n

o f th e B T S co n tract. J.D . B ro co , L L C , S B A N o . N A IC S -5 3 8 9 , 2 0 1 2 WL 3 5 2 7 9 1 8 (A u g

. 7

, 2 0 1 2 ); see D ef

.’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 3

. T h e S B A f o u n d th at, ev en if th e co n tract

w ere n o t so licited th ro u g h N E T C E N T S -1

, J.D

. B ro co co u ld n o t sh o w th at th e A ir F o rce

w o u ld h av e p ro cu red th ro u g h an o p en sm all b u sin ess set-asid e so licitati o n

. J .D

. B ro co , 2 0 1 2 WL 3 5 2 7 9 1 8 ; D ef

.’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 3

. T h u s, th e S B A co n clu d ed th at it

w as “larg ely sp ecu lativ e” th at J.D

. B ro co w as a p o ten tial o f f ero r o n th e co n tract. J.D

. B ro co , 2 0 1 2 WL 3 5 2 7 9 1 8 ; see D ef .’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1 , 2 0 1 2 , at 1 3

.

O n Ju n e 2 8

, 2 0 1 2

, o n e d ay af ter J.D

. B ro co f

iled its N A IC S co d e ap p eal, p lain tif f sen t

a l e t t er to th e o f

f ice o f U n ited S tates S en ato r Jo h n C o rn y n raisin g co n cern s th at th e S o licitatio n sh o u ld n o t h av e b een issu ed u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 a n d t h at th e p ro cu rem en t sh o u ld h av e p ro ceed ed as a stan d -alo n e, sm all b u sin ess set-asid e. A R 9 2 4 -2 5

. S en ato r C o rn y n ’s o f f ice f o rw ard ed p lain tif

f ’s letter to th e A ir F o rce’s O f f ice o f L eg islativ e L iaiso n

o n Ju ly 1 7 , 2 0 1 2 , an d req u ested a resp o n se to p lain tif f ’s co n cern s. A R

9 2 2

.

P ro p o sals in resp o n se to th e S o licitatio n in itially w ere d u e o n Ju n e 2 5

, 2 0 1 2

. A R 7 1

. O n Ju n e 1 4

, 2 0 1 2

, th at d ate w as ex ten d ed to Ju n e 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

. A R 2 5 6

. O n Ju n e 2 6

, 2 0 1 2

, th e A ir F o rce ag ain ex ten d ed th e d ead lin e f o r p ro p o sals to Ju ly 9

, 2 0 1 2

. A R 2 5 8

. O n Ju n e 2 7

, 2 0 1 2

, t h e S B A o r d ered th e A ir F o rce to stay th e S o licitatio n p en d in g th e o u tco m e o f J.D

. B ro co ’s N A IC S co d e ap p eal. P l

. ’ s S u p p l

. A p p ’ x f i l e d J a n

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, a t A 1 5 3

. O n Ju ly 1 0

, 2 0 1 2

, t h e A ir F o rce rem o v ed th e stay an d ex ten d ed th e d u e d ate f o r p ro p o sals to Ju ly 1 6

,

42 0 1 2

. A R 2 6 4

. T h e A ir F o rc e a w a r d e d t h e T in k er B T S co n tract, issu ed as a task o rd er

u n d er C o n tract N o

. F A 8 7 7 1 -0 4 -D -0 0 0 9

, to T elo s C o rp o rat i o n (“T elo s”) o n A u g u st 2 0

, 2 0 1 2 . A R

9 2 9 -4 3

.

P R O C E D U R A L H IS T O R Y

P lain tif f f iled its co m

p lain t o n O cto b er 2 6 , 2 0 1 2 . O n N o v em b er 1 , 2 0 1 2

, th e co u rt

en tered a sch ed u lin g o rd er ad o p tin g th e p arties’ p ro p o sed sch ed u l e f o r b rief in g o n cro ssm o tio n s f o r j u d g m en t o n th e ad m in istrativ e reco rd

. T h e ad m in istrativ e reco rd w as f iled o n N o v em b er 1 9

, 2 0 1 2

, an d w as am en d ed tw ice, o n D ecem b er 1 0

, 2 0 1 2

, an d o n D ecem b er 1 7

, 2 0 1 2

.

O n Jan u ary 1 1

, 2 0 1 3

, p lain tif f f iled a m o tio n to ame n d i t s c o m p lain t, to w h ich th e

co u rt o rd ered d ef

en d an t to resp o n d b y Jan u ary 1 5

, 2 0 1 3

. T h e p arties co m p leted b rief

in g o n th eir d isp o sitiv e m o tio n s o n Jan u ary 1 4

, 2 0 1 3

, an d d ef en d ant r esp o n d ed to p lain tif f ’s m o tio n
to am en d its co m

p lain t o n Jan u a r y 1 5

, 2 0 1 3

. T h e co u rt h eard arg u m en t o n all p en d in g

m o tio n s o n Jan u ary

1 7 , 2 0 1 3

.

D u rin g o ral arg u m en t, d ef en d an t raised a n ew j u risd ictio n al issu e th at h ad n o t b een b rief ed b y th e p arties, an d th e co u rt o rd ered su p p lem en tal b rief in g

. T h e p arties co m

p leted th at b rief in g o n F eb ru ary

5 , 2 0 1 3

.

D IS C U S S IO N

I

. S t a n d a r d s o f r e v i e w

1

. S t a n d a r d o f r e v i e w f o r b i d p r o t e s t s

T h e A d m i n i s t r a t i v e D i s p u t e R e s o l u t i o n A c t o f 1 9 9 6

, P u b

. L

. N o

. 1 0 4

- 3 2 0

, 1 1 0 S t a t

. 3 8 7 0

, § 1 2 ( c o d i f

i e d a t 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 4 9 1 ( b ) ) ( t h e “ A D R A ” )

, a m e n d e d t h e T u c k e r A c t
, 2 8
U

. S

. C

. § 1 4 9 1 ( b ) ( 1 )

, g r a n t i n g t h e C o u r t o f F e d e r a l C l a i m s j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r b i d p r o t e s t s

. S e e R e s

. C o n s e r v a t i o n G r p

. , L

. L

. C

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 5 9 7 F

. 3 d 1 2 3 8

, 1 2 4 3 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 1 0 ) ; I m p r e s a C o n s t r u z i o n i G e o m

. D o m e n i c o G a r u f i v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 2 3 8 F

. 3 d 1 3 2 4

, 1 3 3 0

- 3 2 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 1 ) ( “ D o m e n i c o G a r u f i ” )

. T h e A D R A ’ s s t a n d a r d o f r e v i e w f o r a g e n c y
p r o c u r e m e n t d e c i s i o n s a d o p t e d t h e s t a n d a r d o f r e v i e w s e t f o r t h i n t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i v e P r o c e d u r e A c t
, 5 U

. S

. C

. § 7 0 6 ( 2 0 0 6 ) ( t h e “ A P A ” )

. S e e 2 8 U

. S

. C

. § 1 4 9 1 ( b ) ( 4 ) ( 2 0 0 6 )

. T h e

c o u r t h a s a u t h o r i t y u n d e r t h e A P A t o s e t a s i d e o n l y a n a g e n c y a c t i o n t h a t i s “ a r b i t r a r y ,
c a p r i c i o u s , a n a b u s e o f d i s c r e t i o n , o r o t h e r w i s e n o t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h l a w

. ” 5 U

. S

. C

. §
7 0 6 ( 2 ) ( A ) ( 2 0 0 6 ) ; s e e a l s o P G B A

, L

. L

. C

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 3 8 9 F

. 3 d 1 2 1 9

, 1 2 2 4

- 2 7 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 4 ) ( c l a r i f

y i n g t h a t A D R A i n c o r p o r a t e s a r b i t r a r y o r c a p r i c i o u s s t a n d a r d o f A P A t o

r e v i e w p r o c u r e m e n t d e c i s i o n s ) ; D o m e n i c o G a r u f i

, 2 3 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 3 2

- 3 3 ( n o t i n g t h a t s t a n d a r d s

5a p p l i e d i n S c a n w e l l L a b s

. , I n c

. v

. S h a f f e r , 4 2 4 F

. 2 d 8 5 9 ( D

. C

. C i r

. 1 9 7 0 )

, a n d i t s p r o g e n y

a p p l y t o b i d p r o t e s t s )

.

A c c o r d i n g l y , a s r e s t a t e d b y t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s C o u r t o f A p p e a l s f o r t h e F e d e r a l C i r c u i t
,

“ [ a ] b i d p r o t e s t p r o c e e d s i n t w o s t e p s

. ” B a n n u m , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 4 0 4 F

. 3 d 1 3 4 6

, 1 3 5 1 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 5 )

. F i r s t
, t h e c o u r t d e t e r m i n e s i f

, u n d e r t h e a r b i t r a r y o r c a p r i c i o u s s t a n d a r d

, t h e

a g e n c y a c t e d e i t h e r ( 1 ) w i t h o u t r a t i o n a l b a s i s , o r ( 2 ) c o n t r a r y t o l a w

. 2 / I d

. ; s e e a l s o B a n k n o t e C o r p

. o f A m

. , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 3 6 5 F

. 3 d 1 3 4 5

, 1 3 5 1 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 4 ) ; D o m e n i c o G a r u f

i

, 2 3 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 3 3 ; S t a t i s t i c a , I n c

. v

. C h r i s t o p h e r , 1 0 2 F

. 3 d 1 5 7 7

, 1 5 8 1 ( F e d

. C i r

. 1 9 9 6 )

. S e c o n d

, i f t h e c o u r t f i n d s t h a t t h e a g e n c y a c t e d i n v i o l a t i o n o f t h e A P A

s t a n d a r d

, “ t h e n i t p r o c e e d s t o d e t e r m i n e , a s a f a c t u a l m a t t e r , i f t h e b i d p r o t e s t e r w a s
p r e j u d i c e d b y t h a t c o n d u c t

. ” B a n n u m , 4 0 4 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 5 1

. I n e i t h e r c a s e t h e p l a i n t i f f b e a r s
t h e “ h e a v y b u r d e n ” o f p r o v i n g t h i s l a c k o f r a t i o n a l b a s i s o r v i o l a t i o n o f t h e l a w b y a
p r e p o n d e r a n c e o f t h e e v i d e n c e

. D o m e n i c o G a r u f i

, 2 3 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 3 3

.

I f t h e a g e n c y a c t i o n i s d e t e r m i n e d t o h a v e v i o l a t e d a n a p p l i c a b l e p r o c u r e m e n t

r e g u l a t i o n , t h e c o u r t p r o c e e d s t o a d d r e s s w h e t h e r t h e a c t i o n w a s s i g n i f i c a n t l y p r e

j u d i c i a l t o
t h e p r o t e s t e r

. S e e B a n n u m , 4 0 4 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 5 1

, 1 3 5 3

- 5 4 ; s e e a l s o A x i o m R e s

. M g m t

. , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 5 6 4 F

. 3 d 1 3 7 4

, 1 3 8 1 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 9 ) ( “ W h e n a c h a l l e n g e i s b r o u g h t o n t h e

s e c o n d g r o u n d [ o f t h e B a n n u m t e s t ]

, t h e d i s a p p o i n t e d b i d d e r m u s t s h o w a c l e a r a n d

p r e j u d i c i a l v i o l a t i o n o f a p p l i c a b l e s t a t u t e s o r r e g u l a t i o n s

. ” ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d ) ( i n t e r n a l

q u o t a t i o n m a r k s o m i t t e d ) )

. E v e n i f a p l a i n t i f f c a n s h o w t h a t a p r o c u r e m e n t v i o l a t i o n

o c c u r r e d

, “ [ t ] h e p r e

j u d i c e d e t e r m i n a t i o n a s s e s s e s w h e t h e r a n a d j u d g e d v i o l a t i o n o f l a w

w a r r a n t s s e t t i n g a s i d e a c o n t r a c t a w a r d

. ” B a n n u m , 4 0 4 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 5 4

. W h e n m a k i n g t h i s

e v a l u a t i o n , t h e c o u r t m u s t b e m i n d f u l t h a t “ [ p ] r e

j u d i c e i s a q u e s t i o n o f f a c t

. ” I d

. a t 1 3 5 3 ( c i t i n g A d v a n c e d D a t a C o n c e p t s , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 2 1 6 F

. 3 d 1 0 5 4

, 1 0 5 7 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 0 ) )

. “ T o e s t a b l i s h p r e j u d i c e , t h e c l a i m a n t m u s t s h o w t h a t t h e r e w a s a ‘ s u b s t a n t i a l c h a n c e i t w o u l d h a v e r e c e i v e d t h e c o n t r a c t a w a r d b u t f o r t h a t e r r o r

. ’ ” G a l e n M e d

. A s s o c s

. , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 3 6 9 F

. 3 d 1 3 2 4

, 1 3 3 1 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 4 ) ( q u o t i n g S t a t i s t i c a , 1 0 2 F

. 3 d a t 1 5 8 2 ) ;

s e e a l s o C A C I

, I n c

. - F e d

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 7 1 9 F

. 2 d 1 5 6 7

, 1 5 7 4

- 7 5 ( F e d

. C i r

. 1 9 8 3 ) ( e x p l a i n i n g t h a t
, i n o r d e r t o s h o w p r e j u d i c e , p l a i n t i f

f n e e d o n l y s h o w “ ‘ t h a t i t w a s w i t h i n t h e

z o n e o f a c t i v e c o n s i d e r a t i o n ’ ” ( q u o t i n g M o r g a n B u s

. A s s o c s

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 6 1 9 F

. 2 d 8 9 2

, 8 9 6 ( C t

. C l

. 1 9 8 0 ) ) ) ; a c c o r d A l f a L a v a l S e p a r a t i o n , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 1 7 5 F

. 3 d 1 3 6 5

, 1 3 6 7 ( F e d

. C i r

. 1 9 9 9 )

. I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t a p l a i n t i f f n e e d n o t e s t a b l i s h s t r i c t b u t

- f o r

c a u s a t i o n i n o r d e r t o m e e t i t s b u r d e n o f d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h a t t h e a g e n c y ’ s p r o c u r e m e n t

v i o l a t i o n w a s p r e

j u d i c i a l

. S e e D a t a G e n

. C o r p

. v

. J o h n s o n , 7 8 F

. 3 d 1 5 5 6

, 1 5 6 2 ( F e d

. C i r

. 1 9 9 6 )

.

2 / T h i s l a n g u a g e e n c o m p a s s e s t h e a l t e r n a t i v e g r o u n d f o r a b i d p r o t e s t : w h e t h e r t h e

a g e n c y a c t i o n c o n s t i t u t e d a c l e a r a n d p r e j u d i c i a l v i o l a t i o n o f a n a p p l i c a b l e p r o c u r e m e n t

r e g u l a t i o n

. S e e D o m e n i c o G a r u f i

, 2 3 8 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 3 2

- 3 3

.

62

. S t a n d a r d o f r e v i e w f o r j u d g m e n t o n t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e c o r d

T h e p a r t i e s f

i l e d c r o s s

- m o t i o n s f

o r j u d g m e n t o n t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e c o r d p u r s u a n t t o R C F C 5 2

. 1 ( c )

. T h i s r u l e p r o v i d e s a p r o c e d u r e t h a t a l l o w s t h e c o u r t t o e x p e d i t e a t r i a l b y

u s i n g a “ p a p e r r e c o r d

, a l l o w i n g f a c t

- f i n d i n g b y t h e t r i a l c o u r t

. ” B a n n u m , 4 0 4 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 5 6

. U n l i k e t h e s t a n d a r d f

o r r u l i n g o n a m o t i o n f o r s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t u n d e r R C F C 5 6 ( c )

, a
g e n u i n e d i s p u t e o f m a t e r i a l f a c t d o e s n o t p r e c l u d e a j u d g m e n t o n t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e c o r d

. I d

. a t 1 3 5 5

- 5 6

.

3

. S t a n d a r d o f r e v i e w f o r i n j u n c t i v e r e l i e f

P l a i n t i f f s e e k s a p e r m a n e n t i n

j u n c t i o n e n

j o i n i n g f u r t h e r p e r f

o r m a n c e o f t h e T i n k e r B T S s e r v i c e s a n d r e q u i r i n g t h e A i r F o r c e t o p r o c u r e t h o s e s e r v i c e s t h r o u g h a c o m p e t i t i v e
p r o c u r e m e n t o u t s i d e o f N E T C E N T S

- 1

. S e e P l

. ’ s B r

. f i l e d D e c

. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, a t 3 9

. T h e F e d e r a l
C i r c u i t h a s d e s c r i b e d i n

j u n c t i v e r e l i e f a s “ e x t r a o r d i n a r y r e l i e f

. ” F M C C o r p

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 3 F

. 3 d 4 2 4

, 4 2 7 ( F e d

. C i r

. 1 9 9 3 )

. A d o p t i o n o f t h e A P A s u b s t a n t i v e s t a n d a r d o f r e v i e w d i d

n o t c h a n g e t h e s t a n d a r d f o r g r a n t i n g i n

j u n c t i v e r e l i e f

. S e e P G B A

, 3 8 9 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 2 5

- 2 7 ( c l a r i f y i n g t h a t A D R A i n c o r p o r a t e s a r b i t r a r y a n d c a p r i c i o u s s t a n d a r d o f A P A t o r e v i e w
p r o c u r e m e n t d e c i s i o n s , b u t d i d n o t c h a n g e c o u r t ’ s d i s c r e t i o n i n g r a n t i n g r e m e d y o f i n j u n c t i v e

r e l i e f )

. I n o r d e r t o o b t a i n a n i n j u n c t i o n , t h e F e d e r a l C i r c u i t r e q u i r e s a p r o t e s t o r t o e s t a b l i s h

t h a t “ ( 1 ) t h e p l a i n t i f

f h a s s u c c e e d e d o n t h e m e r i t s , ( 2 ) t h e p l a i n t i f f w i l l s u f

f e r i r r e p a r a b l e h a r m i f t h e c o u r t w i t h h o l d s i n j u n c t i v e r e l i e f

, ( 3 ) t h e b a l a n c e o f h a r d s h i p s t o t h e r e s p e c t i v e
p a r t i e s f a v o r s t h e g r a n t o f i n

j u n c t i v e r e l i e f

, a n d ( 4 ) t h e p u b l i c i n t e r e s t i s s e r v e d b y a g r a n t o f
i n j u n c t i v e r e l i e f

. ” C e n t e c h G r p

. , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 5 5 4 F

. 3 d 1 0 2 9

, 1 0 3 7 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 9 ) ( c i t i n g P G B A

, 3 8 9 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 2 8

- 2 9 )

. S u c c e s s o n t h e m e r i t s p r e v i o u s l y h a s b e e n h e l d t o b e
t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t f

a c t o r f o r a c o u r t t o c o n s i d e r w h e n d e c i d i n g w h e t h e r t o i s s u e i n j u n c t i v e

r e l i e f

. S e e B l u e & G o l d F l e e t
, 4 9 2 F

. 3 d a t 1 3 1 2

.

II. T h e F ed eral A cq u isitio n S tream lin in g A ct

D u rin g o ral arg u m en t d ef en d an t raised a n i s s u e r e g a r d i n g t h e a p p l i c a b i l i t y a n d e f f e c t

o f t h e F e d e r a l A c q u i s i t i o n S t r e a m l i n i n g A c t
, 1 0 U

. S

. C

. § 2 3 0 4 c ( e ) ( S u p p

. V 2 0 1 1 ) ( “ F A S A ” )

. T h e c o u r t o r d e r e d s u p p l e m e n t a l b r i e f i n g o n t h e s u b

j e c t b e c a u s e “ [ t ] h e C o u r t o f

F e d e r a l C l a i m s h a s h e l d t h a t F A S A ’ s l i m i t a t i o n o n p r o t e s t s o f t a s k o r d e l i v e r y o r d e r s i s j u r i s d i c t i o n a l [

, ] ” W i l d f l o w e r I n t ’ l

, L t d

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 1 0 5 F e d

. C l

. 3 6 2

, 3 7 1 ( 2 0 1 2 ) ( c o l l e c t i n g c a s e s )

, a n d a c o u r t i s o b l i g a t e d t o s a t i s f y i t s e l f o f i t s o w n j u r i s d i c t i o n , s e e G o n z a l e s & G o n z a l e s B o n d s & I n s

. A g e n c y , I n c

. v

. D e p ’ t o f H o m e l a n d S e c

. , 4 9 0 F

. 3 d 9 4 0

, 9 4 3 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 0 7 ) ( c i t i n g M i t c h e l l v

. M a u r e r , 2 9 3 U

. S

. 2 3 7

, 2 4 4 ( 1 9 3 4 ) )

. 3 /

3 / F A S A p r o v i d e s s e p a r a t e s t a t u t o r y p r o v i s i o n s f o r c i v i l i a n a n d m i l i t a r y c o n t r a c t s

. S e e B a y F i r s t S o l u t i o n s , L L C v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 1 0 4 F e d

. C l

. 4 9 3

, 5 0 2 n

. 6 ( 2 0 1 2 )

. I n t h e

7F A S A lim its th e j u risd ictio n o f th is co u rt to h ear b id p ro tests related to th e issu an ce

o f task o rd ers:

(e) P ro tests.— (1 ) A p ro test is n o t au th o rized i n co n n ectio n w ith th e issu an ce o r
p ro p o sed issu an ce o f

a task o r d eliv ery

o rd er ex cep t f

o r— (A ) a p ro test o n th e g ro u n d th at th e o rd er in creases th e sco p e,
p erio d

, o r m ax im

u m v alu e o f th e co n tract u n d er w h ich th e o rd er is issu ed ; o r (B ) a p ro test o f

an o rd er v alu ed in ex cess o f $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0

.

1 0 U

. S

. C

. § 2 3 0 4 c ( e )

. T h e estim ated v alu e o f th e T in k er B T S co n tract is $ 9 ,8 0 8 ,9 0 4 .7 8

. A R 1 5 ; see also P l.’s B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 9

. C o n seq u en tly

, o n ly th e f irst ex cep tio n in F A S A

— th at ap p licab le to p ro tests relatin g to sco p e , p e r i o d

, o r m ax im u m v alu e— is

g erm an e to p lain tif

f ’s co m p lain t.

A s stated in its co m

p lain t, p lain tif

f raises tw o ch allen g es. F irst, p lain tif f arg u es th at th e T in k er B T S serv ices are n o t w ith in th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 b ecau se th at c o n tract d o es n o t co n tem

p late th e o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce (“O &M ”) o f leg acy sy stem s o u tsid e th e

co n tex t o f a tran sitio n to n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y

. C o m p l. ¶¶ 1 7 -2 5

. P lain tif

f ’s seco n d ch allen g e is th at th e A ir F o rce’s j u stif icatio n f o r ex ten d in g N E T C E N T S

- 1 w as im p ro p er. 4 / Id

. ¶¶ 2 6 -3 4

. Wh ile p lain tif f ’s f irst ch allen g e rem ain s u n ch an g ed

, see P l.’s B r.

3 / ( C o n t ’ d f

r o m p a g e 7

. )

s u p p l e m e n t a l b r i e f

i n g o r d e r , t h e c o u r t m i s t a k e n l y r e f e r r e d t o t h e s t a t u t e a p p l i c a b l e t o c i v i l i a n

c o n t r a c t s

. S e e O r d e r e n t e r e d J a n

. 1 8

, 2 0 1 3

. T h e r e l e v a n t l a n g u a g e o f t h e t w o s t a t u t e s i s i d e n t i c a l

. C o m p a r e 1 0 U

. S

. C

. § 2 3 0 4 c ( e ) ( S u p p

. V 2 0 1 1 )

, w i t h 4 1 U

. S

. C

. § 4 1 0 6 ( f ) ( S u p p

. V 2 0 1 1 )

.

4 / D e f e n d a n t m o v e d t o d i s m i s s p l a i n t i f f ’ s s e c o n d c h a l l e n g e f

o r l a c k o f s t a n d i n g b e c a u s e t h e c o m p l a i n t s t a t e d t h a t p l a i n t i f f w a s c h a l l e n g i n g t h e s e c o n d e x t e n s i o n o f
N E T C E N T S

- 1

, w h e r e a s t h e S o l i c i t a t i o n w a s i s s u e d u n d e r t h e f i r s t e x t e n s i o n

. S e e D e f

. ’ s B r

. f i l e d D e c

. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, a t 2 0

- 2 2

. I n r e s p o n s e p l a i n t i f f m o v e d t o a m e n d i t s c o m p l a i n t t o m a k e

c l e a r t h a t i t w a s c h a l l e n g i n g t h e f i r s t e x t e n s i o n

. S e e P l

. ’ s M o t

. f i l e d J a n

. 1 1

, 2 0 1 3

. D e f e n d a n t o p p o s e d t h e m o t i o n o n g r o u n d s o f u n t i m e l i n e s s a n d f u t i l i t y , a r g u i n g t h a t
, p r i o r t o f i l i n g i t s c o m p l a i n t
, p l a i n t i f f h a d a c c e s s t o a l l n e c e s s a r y i n f o r m a t i o n t o d e t e r m i n e u n d e r

w h i c h N E T C E N T S

- 1 e x t e n s i o n t h e S o l i c i t a t i o n w a s i s s u e d a n d t h a t p l a i n t i f f l a c k e d s t a n d i n g
t o c h a l l e n g e t h e N E T C E N T S

- 1 e x t e n s i o n

. S e e D e f

. ’ s B r

. f i l e d J a n

. 1 5

, 2 0 1 3

.

A l t h o u g h “ [ t ] h e c o u r t s h o u l d f r e e l y g i v e l e a v e [ t o a m e n d ] w h e n j u s t i c e s o r e q u i r e s [

, ] ”
R C F C 1 5 ( a ) ( 2 )

, “ t h e e x i s t e n c e o f s u c h f a c t o r s a s ‘ u n d u e d e l a y , b a d f a i t h o r d i l a t o r y m o t i v e

8f

iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 7 -3 6

, th e seco n d h as b een ref in ed o v er th e co u rse o f litig atio n

. In its m o tio n f

o r j u d g m en t o n th e ad m in istrativ e reco rd

, p lain tif f rep h rases its seco n d ch allen g e

as u rg in g : N E T C E N T S -1 w as ex ten d ed f o r th e p u rp o se o f p ro cu rin g f o llo w -o n serv ices, so it w as n o t au th o rized to serv e as th e p ro cu rem en t v eh i c l e f o r th e T in k er B T S serv ices, b ecau se th o se serv ices are n o t f o llo w -o n serv ices to N E T C E N T S -1

. S ee id

. a t 2 2 -2 7

. In

o rd erin g su p p lem en tal b rief in g o n th e im

p act o f F A S A

, th e co u rt ex p ressed its

u n d erstan d in g o f

p lain tif f ’s seco n d ch allen g e in sim ilar term s. S ee O rd er en tered Jan . 1 8

, 2 0 1 3 (p h rasin g p lain tif

f ’s seco n d ch allen g e th ereb y : “ N E T C E N T S

- 1

, w h i c h w a s e x t e n d e d

t w i c e o n a s o l e

- s o u r c e b a s i s , w a s u s e d i m p r o p e r l y a s t h e c o n t r a c t u a l v e h i c l e t o p r o c u r e t h e T i n k e r B T S s e r v i c e s b e c a u s e t h e y a r e n o t t h e t y p e o f s e r v i c e s t h a t w o u l d h a v e j u s t i f i e d a

s o l e

- s o u r c e e x t e n s i o n u n d e r t h e C o m p e t i t i o n i n C o n t r a c t i n g A c t
, 1 0 U

. S

. C

. § 2 3 0 4 ( d ) ( 1 ) ( B ) [ ( S u p p

. V 2 0 1 1 ) ] ” )

.

D ef en d an t co n ced es th at p lain tif f ’s f irst ch allen g e is w ith in F A S A ’s lim itatio n s an d th at th e co u rt th eref

o re p o ssesses j u risd ictio n to h ear th at ch allen g e. S ee D ef .’s B r. f iled Jan

. 2 5

, 2 0 1 3

, at 1 -3

. H o w ev er, d ef e n d a n t a r g u es th at, p u rsu an t to F A S A

, th e co u rt lack s j u risd ictio n to h ear p lain tif f ’s seco n d ch allen g e b ecau se th at ch allen g e d o es n o t co n ten d th at th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 . S ee id . at 2

.

P l ain tif f ’s resp o n siv e su p p lem en tal b rief f u rth er clarif

ies th at p lain tif

f ’s seco n d ch allen g e is th at th e ex ten sio n o f N E T C E N T S -1 n arro w ed th e sco p e o f th at co n tract b ecau se th e ex ten sio n w as au th o rized o n ly f o r lim ited p u rp o ses. S ee P l.’s B r. f iled F eb

. 1

, 2 0 1 3

, at 2 -4

. P lain tif

f th u s arg u es t h a t th e co u rt m ay h ear b o th o f its ch allen g es, as th e co u rt m u st

4 / ( C o n t ’ d f

r o m p a g e 8

. )

o n t h e p a r t o f t h e m o v a n t
, r e p e a t e d f a i l u r e t o c u r e d e f

i c i e n c i e s b y a m e n d m e n t s p r e v i o u s l y

a l l o w e d

, u n d u e p r e

j u d i c e t o t h e o p p o s i n g p a r t y b y v i r t u e o f a l l o w a n c e o f t h e a m e n d m e n t
, [ o r ]
f u t i l i t y o f a m e n d m e n t ’ m a y j u s t i f y t h e d e n i a l o f a m o t i o n f o r l e a v e t o a m e n d [

, ] ” M i t s u i

F o o d s , I n c

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 8 6 7 F

. 2 d 1 4 0 1

, 1 4 0 3

- 0 4 ( F e d

. C i r

. 1 9 8 9 ) ( q u o t i n g F o m a n v

. D a v i s , 3 7 1 U

. S

. 1 7 8

, 1 8 2 ( 1 9 6 2 ) )

. T h e c o u r t f i n d s t h a t l e a v e t o a m e n d i s w a r r a n t e d

. P l a i n t i f f ’ s c i t a t i o n t o t h e i n c o r r e c t e x t e n s i o n o f N E T C E N T S

- 1 i n t h e c o m p l a i n t e f f e c t i v e l y

a m o u n t s t o a c l e r i c a l e r r o r t h a t h a s c a u s e d n o p r e j u d i c e t o d e f

e n d a n t

. P e r m i t t i n g p l a i n t i f f t o

a m e n d i t s c o m p l a i n t d o e s n o t a l t e r t h e e s s e n c e o f i t s c h a l l e n g e s t o t h e S o l i c i t a t i o n , n o r d o e s i t c h a n g e d e f

e n d a n t ’ s r e s p o n s e s t o t h o s e c h a l l e n g e s

. I n d e e d

, d e f e n d a n t h a s a r g u e d t h a t

p l a i n t i f f l a c k s s t a n d i n g t o c h a l l e n g e n o t o n l y t h e s e c o n d N E T C E N T S

- 1 e x t e n s i o n , b u t a l s o
t h e f i r s t e x t e n s i o n

. S e e D e f

. ’ s B r

. f i l e d J a n

. 1 4

, 2 0 1 3

, a t 6

- 7

. M o r e o v e r , a s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e b o d y o f t h i s o p i n i o n , t h e c o u r t n e c e s s a r i l y m u s t l o o k t o t h e f i r s t N E T C E N T S

- 1 e x t e n s i o n t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e S o l i c i t a t i o n i n c r e a s e s t h e s c o p e o f N E T C E N T S

- 1

. A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e

a m e n d m e n t i s n o t f

u t i l e

.

9lo o k to th e j u s tif icatio n f o r th e ex ten sio n o f N E T C E N T S -1 to d eterm in e th at co n tract’s

sco p e in d ecid in g w h eth er th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e. S ee id

.

In its rep ly d ef

en d an t tak es th e p o sitio n th at p lain tif f d id n o t ad d ress w h eth er F A S A

p rev en ts th e co u rt f

ro m h earin g p lain tif

f ’s seco n d ch allen g e. S ee D ef .’s B r. f iled F e b

. 5

, 2 0 1 3

, at 1

. D ef

en d an t th eref

o re m ain tain s th at p lain tif f im p lied ly co n ced ed th at th e co u rt sh o u ld d ism iss th at ch allen g e f o r lack o f j u risd ictio n . S ee id

.

T h e co u rt co n clu d es th at F A S A d o es n o t d ep riv e th e co u rt o f j u risd ictio n w ith resp ect
to eith er o f p lain tif

f ’s ch allen g es, as each arg u es th at th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f th e p ro cu rem en t v eh icle, N E T C E N T S -1

. P lain tif f ’s f irst arg u m en t is th at th e S o licitatio n

ex ceed s th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 b ecau se th e S o licitatio n is f o r o p eratio n an d

m ain ten an ce o f leg acy teleco m m u n icatio n s sy stem s an d th at N E T C E N T S

- 1 d o e s n o t

co n tem p late su c h serv ices ex cep t in th e co n tex t o f a tran sitio n to n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y

. A s d ef

en d an t co n ced es, th at arg u m en t tak es th e p o sitio n th at th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1

, w h ich is a p erm issib le ch allen g e u n d er F A S A

. A cco rd in g ly , th e co u rt p o ssesses j u risd ictio n to h ear p lain tif f ’s f irst ch allen g e.

P lain tif f ’s seco n d ch allen g e also asserts th at th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f
N E T C E N T S -1

. T h e arg u m en t, as ad v an ced in p lain tif f ’s mo t io n f

o r j u d g m en t o n th e ad m in istrativ e reco rd

, is th at th e A ir F o rce’s stated reaso n f o r ex ten d in g N E T C E N T S -1 o n

a so le-so u rce b asis w as “th at th e su p p lies an d serv ices to b e p u rch ased d u rin g th e ex ten d ed

co n tract w ere o n ly av ailab le f ro m th e o rig in al N E T C E N T S [ -] 1 co n tracto rs w ith o u t

su b stan tial d u p licatio n o f co st o r u n accep tab le d e l a y s b ecau se th ey w ere f o llo w [ -] o n
p u rch ases to th e d ev elo p m en t o r th e p ro d u ct o f a m aj o r sy stem o r h ig h ly sp ecialize[ d ]

eq u ip m en t.” P l.’s B r. f

iled Jan

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, at 5 ; see also P l.’s B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 3 -2 5

. T h e S o licitatio n , p l a i n t i f f p o sits, d o es n o t seek serv ices th at are o n ly av ailab le f ro m N E T C E N TS- 1 c ont

r a c t or s or t

ha t a r e fol l ow-o n p u rch ases to th e n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y
p ro cu red th ro u g h N E T C E N T S -1

. A s a co n seq u en ce it in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S

1

. S ee P l.’s B r. f

iled F eb

. 1

, 2 0 1 3

, at 2 (sta t i n g t h at th e S o licitatio n in creased sco p e o f
N E T C E N T S -1 “as th at sco p e w as later co n s t r a i n e d b y th e G o v ern m en t’s so le[ -] so u rce

ex ten sio n o f th e co n tract f o r a n e x p r e s sly lim ited p u rp o se”). T h at is a ch allen g e to a task

o rd er co n tract th at th is co u rt p o ssesses j u risd ictio n to h ear p u rsu an t to F A S A

.

III. B lu e & G o ld F leet

D ef en d an t also h as ad v an ced th e p o sitio n th at p lain tif f h as w aiv ed its ab ility to ch allen g e th e S o licitatio n u n d er th e p rin cip le o u tlin ed in B lu e & G o ld F leet, 4 9 2 F .3 d 1 3 0 8

. T h e F ed eral C ircu it h eld in B lu e & G o ld F leet th at “a p arty w h o h as th e o p p o rtu n ity to

o b j ect to th e term s o f a g o v ern m en t so licitatio n co n tain in g a p aten t erro r an d f ails to d o so
p r io r to th e clo se o f th e b id d in g p ro cess w aiv es its ab ility to raise th e sam e o b j ectio n

1 0su b seq u en tly in a b id p ro test actio n in th e C o u rt o f F ed e ral C laim s.” 4 9 2 F .3 d at 1 3 1 3

.

D ef en d an t arg u es th at p l a i n tif f b o th k n ew o f th e S o licitatio n an d h ad th e o p p o rtu n ity to

o b j ect to it, as ev id en ced b y p lain tif f ’s letter to S en ato r C o rn y n o n Ju n e 2 8 , 2 0 1 2 , p rio r to th e d ead lin e f

o r su b m issio n o f p ro p o sals, th ereb y in d icatin g th at p lain tif f w as aw are th at th e A ir F o rce w as p ro cu rin g th e T in k er B T S serv ices th ro u g h N E T C E N T S -1

. D ef .’s B r. f iled
D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 8 -1 9

. A cco rd in g ly

, p lain tif f w aiv ed its ch allen g e to th e S o licitatio n

. Id

. at 1 9 -2 0

.

P lain tif f resp o n d s, f

irst, th at th e p ro testo r in B lu e & G o ld F leet w as an o f f ero r o n a

so licitatio n an d th a t t h e F e d e ral C ircu it h as n ev er ex ten d ed B lu e & G o ld F leet’s w aiv er
p rin cip le to p ro testo rs w h o d id n o t an d c o u l d n o t b id o r p ro p o se o n th e ch allen g ed

so licitatio n

. P l.’s B r. f

iled Jan

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, at 7

. P lain tif f f u rth er arg u es ag ain st th e ap p licatio n

o f B lu e & G o ld F leet b ecau se th e S o l i c i t a t i o n w as n o t ad v ertised p u b licly ; u n lik e th e
p ro testo r in B lu e & G o l d F l e et, th eref o re, p o ten tial p ro testo rs d id n o t h av e th e f u ll access
to in f o rm atio n th at N E T C E N T S -1 co n t r a c t h o l d e rs d id

. Id

. at 7 -8

. F in ally

, p lain tif f

co n ced es th at, alth o u g h it b ecam e “in f o rm ally aw are” o f th e S o licitatio n o n Ju n e 2 2

, 2 0 1 2

, it to o k tim ely actio n to ch allen g e th e S o licitatio n

. Id

. at 8 -9

. P lain tif f states th at it “team ed

a s a p o ten tial su b co n tracto r” w ith J.D

. B ro co b ecau se p lain tif f d id n o t m eet th e s i z e lim itatio n s o f

N A IC S C o d e 8 1 1 2 1 3 , w h ich J.D

. B ro co w as ad v o catin g as th e p ro p er co d e in its S B A ap p eal. Id

. at 8

. P lain tif f ch aracterizes its letter to S en ato r C o rn y n as “th e o n ly

o th er av en u e it saw o p en to it[ ,] ” an d th eref o re ev id en ce th at it ch allen g ed th e S o licitatio n

. Id

. B ased o n th is scen ario

, p lain tif f su m m arizes, it ch allen g ed th e S o licitatio n p rio r to th e clo se o f b id d in g . Id . at 8 -9

.

D ef en d an t rej o in s th at th e ratio n ale o f B lu e & G o ld F leet ap p lies to th e circu m stan ces

o f th is case an d th at th e F ed eral C ircu it d id n o t restrict th e h o ld in g o f B lu e & G o ld F leet to d isap p o in ted b id d ers o r o f f ero rs, as th e o p in io n ref

ers to “a p arty .” D ef

.’s B r. f iled Jan

. 1 4

, 2 0 1 3

, a t 3

- 4 ( q u o t i n g B lu e & G o ld F leet, 4 9 2 F .3 d at 1 3 1 3 ). D ef en d an t su g g ests th at th e in terests o f n atio n al d ef

en se an d ex p ed itio u s reso lu tio n o f b id p ro tests cited in B lu e & G o ld
F leet as th e j u stif

icatio n f o r th e w aiv er ru le also are p resen t in th e case a t b ar. Id

. at 4

. D ef en d an t n o tes th at p lain tif

f d o es n o t d isp u te th at it co u ld h av e ch allen g ed th e S o licitatio n b ef o re th e clo se o f

b id d in g

. Id

. P lain tif

f w as th e in cu m

b en t co n tracto r an d co n ced es th at it b e c am e aw are o f th e S o licitatio n o n Ju n e 2 2

, 2 0 1 2

, th ereb y af f o rd in g p lain tif

f am p le k n o w led g e an d tim e to ch allen g e th e S o licitatio n

. Id

. T h at p lain tif f h ad an o p p o rtu n ity to ch allen g e th e S o licitatio n is f u rth er d em o n strated b y its letter to S en ato r C o rn y n , as w ell as b y th e f act th at J.D

. B ro co w as rep resen ted b y p lain tif f ’s co u n sel b ef

o re th e S B A

. Id

. at 5

. D ef en d an t d escrib es B lu e & G o ld F leet’s w aiv er ru le as d esig n ed t o p rev en t co n tracto rs f ro m tak in g ad v an tag e o f th e G o v ern m en t an d o th er b id d ers, as w ell as to p rev en t af ter-th ef act litig atio n , an d arg u es th at th o se co n sid eratio n s are in p lay an d m ak e th e ap p licatio n o f th e w aiv er ru le ap p ro p riate. Id . at 5

.

1 1P lain tif f is co rrect th at th e F e d e r a l C ircu it h as n ev er h eld th at B lu e & G o ld F leet’s

w aiv er ru le ap p lies to a p ro testo r w h o d id n o t an d co u ld n o t b id o n a so licitatio n ; in d eed

, th e
p ro testo r in B lu e & G o ld F leet h ad m ad e an o f f er o n th e so licitatio n at issu e. S ee 4 9 2 F .3 d
at 1 3 1 1 . A s d ef

en d an t em

p h asizes, h o w ev er, th e p lain lan g u ag e o f th e h o ld in g o f

B lu e & G o ld F leet is th at “a p arty ” th at d o es n o t raise an o b j ectio n p rio r to th e clo se o f b i d d i n g

w aiv es its ch allen g e. 5 / S ee id

. at 1 3 1 3

. In at lea s t o n e o p in io n d iscu ssin g B lu e & G o ld
F leet, th e F ed eral C ircu it h as sp o k en in m o re sp ecif ic term s:

In B lu e & G o ld F leet th e p o in t m ad e is straig h t-f o rw ard

— if th ere is a p aten t,
i.e.

, clear, erro r in a so licitatio n k n o w n to th e b id d er, th e b id d er can n o t lie in

t h e w e e d s h o p in g to g et th e co n tract, an d th en if it d o es n o t, b lin d sid e t h e
ag en cy ab o u t th e erro r in a co u rt su it.

D G R A sso cs., In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 6 9 0 F .3 d 1 3 3 5

, 1 3 4 3 (F ed

. C ir. 2 0 1 2 ). T h e F ed eral
C ircu it th u s h a s s p e c i f

i e d th e ap p licatio n o f B lu e & G o ld F leet to a “b id d er.” Y et, D G R
A sso ciates d iscu ssed B lu e & G o ld F leet o n ly in th e co n tex t o f w h eth er th e G o v ern m en t’s

arg u m en ts in th e C o u rt o f F ed eral C laim s w ere su b stan tially j u stif ied th e p u r p o s e o f

atto rn ey s’ f

ees an aly sis u n d er th e E q u al A ccess to Ju stice A ct. S ee 6 9 0 F .3 d at 1 3 4 3 -4 4

. It is also p erh ap s w o rth n o tin g th at th e p r o t esto r in D G R A sso ciates w as p reclu d ed f ro m

o f f erin g o n th e so licitatio n at issu e, b u t th e C o u rt o f F ed eral C laim s f o u n d th at th e p ro testo r h a d satisf ied B lu e & G o ld F leet w ith o u t d iscu ssio n o f w h eth er th e w aiv er ru le a p p l i e d t o

n o n -o f f ero rs. S ee D G R A sso cs., In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 9 4 F ed

. C l. 1 8 9

, 1 9 3

, 2 0 2 -0 4 (2 0 1 0 ).

A s it ap p ears, th e F ed eral C ircu it h as n o t h ad o ccasio n to p ro v id e g u id an ce reg ard in g th e ap p licab ility o f B lu e & G o ld F leet to co n tracto rs th at are elig ib le to o f f er o n a so licitatio n

an d d o n o t d o so , o r th at are p reclu d ed f ro m o f f erin g b y th e term s o f th e so licitatio n itself

. H o w ev er, tw o o p in io n s f ro m th e C o u rt o f F ed eral C laim s d iscu ss th at su b j e ct in g reater d ep th

.

5 / T h e F e d e r a l C i r c u i t r e c e n t l y r u l e d t h a t B l u e & G o l d F l e e t ’ s w a i v e r r u l e a p p l i e s t o

a n o f f e r o r w h e n a s o l i c i t a t i o n i s a m e n d e d a f t e r t h e c l o s e o f b i d d i n g a n d t h e a m e n d m e n t

c o n t a i n s a p a t e n t e r r o r

. S e e C O M I N T S y s

. , C o r p

. v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s , 7 0 0 F

. 3 d 1 3 7 7

, 1 3 8 1

- 8 3 ( F e d

. C i r

. 2 0 1 2 )

. I n t h a t s i t u a t i o n i t i s i n c u m b e n t o n t h e p r o t e s t o r t o r a i s e a n o b j e c t i o n t o t h e

a m e n d m e n t p r i o r t o c o n t r a c t a w a r d

. S e e i d

. a t 1 3 8 2 ( “ T o b e s u r e , w h e r e b r i n g i n g t h e

c h a l l e n g e p r i o r t o t h e a w a r d i s n o t p r a c t i c a b l e , i t m a y b e b r o u g h t t h e r e a f t e r

. B u t
, a s s u m i n g
t h a t t h e r e i s a d e q u a t e t i m e i n w h i c h t o d o s o , a d i s a p p o i n t e d b i d d e r m u s t b r i n g a c h a l l e n g e
t o a s o l i c i t a t i o n c o n t a i n i n g a p a t e n t e r r o r o r a m b i g u i t y p r i o r t o t h e a w a r d o f t h e c o n t r a c t

. ” )

. I n t h e c a s e a t b a r , t h e a l l e g e d p a t e n t e r r o r i n t h e S o l i c i t a t i o n w a s n o t t h e r e s u l t o f a p o s t

p r o p o s a l a m e n d m e n t

. N o r d i d C O M I N T ’ s a p p l i c a t i o n o f B l u e & G o l d F l e e t t o t h e p e c u l i a r

c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f C O M I T ; r a t h e r , t h e F e d e r a l C i r c u i t a p p l i e d B l u e & G o l d F l e e t t o a s i t u a t i o n
t h a t a r o s e a f

t e r t h e d e a d l i n e f

o r s u b m i s s i o n o f p r o p o s a l s

.

1 2In In f rastru ctu re D ef

en se T ech n o lo g ies, L L C v. Uni t ed S tates, 8 1 F ed

. C l. 3 7 5 (2 0 0 8 ) (“ID T ”), th e D ef

en se L o g istics A g en cy (“D L A ”) issu ed a p reso licitatio n n o tice co v erin g a
req u est f o r p ro p o sal (“R F P ”) f

o r a so le-so u rce ID IQ co n tract to d eliv er co llap sib le d ef en se

w alls m an u f

actu red to d esig n sp ecif

icatio n s m atch in g th o se o f co llap sib le d ef en se w alls th at
p rev io u sly

h ad b een su p p lied b y

a co m p an y k n o w n as H esco B astio n , L td

. (“H esco ”). 8 1
F ed

. C l. at 3 7 7 -8 1

. T h e p reso lici t a tio n n o tice also stated th at D L A w o u ld ev alu ate tech n ically accep tab le p r o p o s a l s

. Id

. at 3 8 1

. S h o rtly th ereaf ter an d ap p aren tly w ith o u t ref eren ce to th e p reso licitatio n n o tice, rep resen tativ es o f th e p lain tif f

, ID T

, w h ich

m an u f a c t u r ed a co m

p etin g p ro d u ct w ith a d if f eren t d esig n , m et w ith th e D ep u ty U n d er S ecretary o f D ef

en se to ad v o cate f

o r f u ll co m p etitio n f o r f o rce p r o t ectio n b arriers. Id

. at 3 8 2

. D L A later issu ed its so le

- s o u r c e R F P f o r H esco ’s p ro d u cts. Id

. A lth o u g h o n e n o n

H esco o f f ero r also resp o n d ed to th e R F P

, ID T d id n o t su b m it a b id o r p ro p o sal an d d id n o t f i l e a b id p ro test d u rin g th e p ro p o sal p erio d

. Id

. at 3 8 2 -8 3

. O n ly H esco ’s p ro p o s a l w a s d eem ed to m eet th e so li c i t atio n req u irem en ts. Id

. at 3 8 3 -8 4

. ID T later f iled a b id p ro test af ter th e co n clu sio n o f

th e p ro p o sal p erio d . Id . at 3 8 4

.

T h e C o u rt o f

F ed eral C laim s h eld th at ID T lack ed stan d in g to b rin g its b id p ro test, b u t also d iscu ssed w h eth er ID T h ad w aiv ed its ab ility to ch allen g e th e so li c i t a t i o n

. Id

. at 3 8 4

- 8 9

. D raw in g a co n trast w ith B lu e & G o ld F leet, th e co u rt ex p ressly f o u n d th a t t h e

w aiv er ru le sh o u ld ap p ly

ev en th o u g h ID T w as n o t an o f f ero r:

T h e clear in stru ctio n o f

th e F ed eral C ircu it th at o b j ectio n to th e term s o f th e

so licitatio n m

u st b e p ro tested p rio r to th e clo se o f th e b id d in g p ro cess, ap p lies

w ith n o less f

o rce h ere. T h e p ro testo r in B lu e & G o ld h ad su b m itted a b id ;

n ev erth eless, its f

ailu re to f ile i t s p r o t e st d u rin g th e b id p erio d w as f o u n d to b e a w aiv er. B ecau se ID T d id n o t f ile a b id o r p ro p o sal, th e case o f w aiv er is

ev en stro n g er.

Id

. at 3 8 9

. S ig n if

ican tly

, th e p reso licitatio n n o tice in v ited “‘[ i] n terested p erso n s’” to su b m it

p ro p o sals. Id

. at 3 8 6 (q u o tin g th e p reso licitatio n n o tice). A lth o ugh t h e p reso licitatio n n o tice

cau tio n ed th at it w as “n o t a req u est f o r co m p et i t i v e p ro p o sals[ ,] ” it stated th at p ro p o sals receiv ed “w ill b e co n sid ered b y th e G o v ern m en t.

. . . In f o rm atio n receiv ed w ill n o rm ally b e

co n sid ered so lely f

o r th e p u rp o se o f d eterm in in g w h et h er to co n d u ct a co m p etitiv e
p ro cu rem en t.” Id . (q u o tin g th e p reso licitatio n n o tice). In lig h t o f th at lan g u ag e, th e co u rt

n o ted th at, h ad ID T su b mi t t e d a p ro p o sal, it w o u ld h av e h ad th e sam e ef f ect as ID T ’s b id

p ro test, i.e.

, p u t D L A o n n o tice th at a co m p etitiv e p ro cu rem en t w as w arran ted

. Id

. B ecau se ID T h ad n eith er su b m itted a p ro p o sal n o r f iled a p ro test d u ri n g t h e b id d in g p erio d

, “[ t] h e
ag en cy w as n o t af

f o rd ed an o p p o rtu n ity to resp o n d to th e arg u m en t” th at ID T w as raisin g in its p o st-aw ard b id p ro test. Id

.

1 3T h e su b j ect o f a n o n -o f

f erin g p ro testo r aro se ag ain in S h am ro ck F o o d s C o

. v

. U n ited
S tates, 9 2 F ed

. C l. 3 3 9 (2 0 1 0 ). T h e p ro testo r, S h am ro ck F o o d s C o

. (“S h am ro ck ”), w as th e in cu m b en t c o n t racto r f

o r f o o d an d b ev erag e su p p ly an d d eliv ery serv ices to F o rt B liss,
T ex as. 9 2 F ed

. C l. at 3 4 0 -4 1

. S h am ro ck ’s co n tract, as w ith th o se h eld b y o th er co n tracto rs
p ro v id in g sim ilar serv ices to ot he r m i l i t a r y i ns t a l l atio n s, in clu d ed term s th at S h am ro ck m ig h t b e called u p o n to serv e as a b ack

- u p p r i me v en d o r f o r a n earb y in stallatio n if th at i n s t a l l a t i o n ’s p rim e v en d o r w ere u n ab le to d eliv er th e req u ired serv ices. Id

. at 3 4 1 -4 2

. B ased u p o n u n satisf

acto ry p erf

o rm an ce, th e p ro cu rin g ag en cy , D L A

, d ecid ed to in v o k e th e b ack -u p p rim e v en d o r p ro cess in o r d e r to rem o v e S h am ro ck as th e p rim e v en d o r f o r F o rt B liss an d f

in d an o th er f

o o d serv ice su p p lier f

o r th e in stallatio n

. Id

. at 3 4 2

. B y letter to th e

co n tractin g o f

f icer, S h am

ro ck stated its o p p o sitio n to its rem o v al f ro m F o rt B liss. Id

.

A f ter ex am in in g p rim e v en d o rs in n eig h b o rin g areas, DLA found four po ten tial b ack

u p v en d o rs, in clu d in g S h am ro ck ’s P h o en ix -b ased o p eratio n

. Id

. D L A issu ed a so licitatio n
to all f o u r p o ten tial b ack -u p v en d o rs to su b m it b id s f o r th e F o rt B li s s s e r v i c e s; all b u t S h amr o c k d i d so

. Id

. T h e F o rt B liss serv ices w ere aw ard ed to an o th er co n tracto r, U .S

. F o o d serv ice, In c. (“F o o d s e r v i ce”). Id

. A f ter aw ard o f th e co n tract, S h am ro ck f iled a b id

p ro test in th e C o u rt o f

F ed eral C laim s. Id . at 3 4 2 -4 3

.

A s in ID T

, th e co u rt f

o u n d th at S h am ro ck lack ed stan d in g to b rin g its b id p ro test. Id

.
a t 3 4 4 -4 5

. T h e co u rt also ad d ressed th e q u estio n o f w aiv er, f in d in g th at S h am r o c k h a d

w aiv ed its ab ility to ch allen g e th e so licitatio n u n d er th e w aiv er ru le o f B lu e & G o ld F leet. Id

. at 3 4 5 -4 6

. T h e co u rt ex p licitly rej ected S h am ro ck ’s arg u m en t th at B l u e & G o l d F leet d id n o t ap p ly

b ecau se S h am ro ck h ad n o t m ad e an o f f er:

F irst, p lain tif

f su g g es t s t h a t th e w aiv er ru le h as n o ap p licatio n to a p lain tif f

w h o ab stain s f

ro m p articip atin g in a p ro cu rem en t an d w h o f iles a p ro test af

ter th e aw ard o f a co n tract. In o th er w o rd s, w aiv er, in p lain tif f ’s v iew

, o n ly

o ccu rs if “th e co n t r a c t o r s u b m itted a b id th en w aited to see if it w o u ld w in b ef o re f ilin g a p ro test.” U n f

o rtu n ately f

o r p lain tif f

, th ere is n o su p p o rt f

o r th is lim ited v iew o f th e w aiv er ru le in B lu e & G o ld F leet o r in cases in terp retin g th e w aiv er ru le. T h e u n su rp risin g reaso n th at th e ru le an n o u n ced in B lu e & G o ld F leet h as b een ap p lied p rim arily to p ro testo rs w h o h av e su b m itted b id s in resp o n se to so licitatio n s is th at actu al b id d ers are “in terested p arties” w h o h av e stan d in g to b rin g p o st-aw ard b i d p r o tests. T h e w aiv er ru le in B lu e & G o l d F l e e t clearly states th at a ch allen g e to th e term s o f a so licitatio n is

u n tim ely an d w aiv ed if f

iled af ter th e b id d in g p erio d

. S h am r o c k w a i v e d its rig h t to o b

j ect to [ D L A ’s] aw ard o f th e b ack -u p p rim e v en d o r co n tract w o rk
at F o rt B liss.

1 4Id

. (in tern al citatio n s o m itted ). F u rth er, th e co u rt rej ected S h am ro ck ’s arg u m en t th at B lu e

& G o ld F leet sh o u ld n o t ap p ly b ecau se S h am ro ck d id n o t h a v e f

u ll k n o w led g e o f th e

co n tract aw ard to F o o d serv ice:

S h am ro ck h as arg u ed

, an d co n tin u es to ar g u e , t h at [ D L A ] h ad n o rig h t to

co m p ete th e F o rt B liss p o rtio n o f S h am ro ck ’s co n tract, an d th at arg u m en t h as b een w aiv ed u n d er th e p reced en t o f B lu e & G o ld F leet. A ll o f p lain tif f ’s b id

p ro test arg u m en ts h a v e t h u s f ar f o cu sed o n th e illeg ality o f th e co n tract

m ech an ism s b y w h ich th e co n tract w o rk at F o rt B liss w a s aw ard ed to F o o d serv ice. T h ese m ech an ism s w ere read ily d iscern ab le in th e so licitatio n
p ro v id ed to S h am

ro ck

. It is o f n o co n seq u e n ce th at th e m in u tiae o f th e

co n tract aw ard to F o o d serv ice w ere n o t rev ealed in th e so licitatio n

.

Id . at 3 4 6

.

T h e co u rt th en f

o o tn o ted th e f

o llo w in g b ro ad assertio n : “T h is co u rt h as n o ted th at in th e p o st-aw ard b id p ro test co n tex t ‘th e case o f w aiv er [ u n d er B lu e & G o ld F leet

p reced en t] is ev en stro n g er’ f o r a n o n -b id d er th an a b id d er.” Id

. at 3 4 6 n .1 2 (q u o tin g ID T

, 8 1 F ed

. C l. at 3 8 9 ). ID T tied th is d eclaratio n to th e p articu lar f acts o f th at case, d etailed

o v e r f i v e p ag es. T h is f

o o tn o ted lan g u ag e d em o n strates th e n eed to ex ercise d iscretio n i n
ap p ly in g B lu e & G o ld F leet to f actu al circu m stan ces n o t p resen ted in th at case. In b o th ID T

a n d S h am ro ck F o o d s, D L A in v ited th e p ro testo rs to su b m it p ro p o sals. In d e e d

, t h e
p reso licitatio n n o tice in ID T so licited co m m en ts o n D L A ’s in ten tio n to co m p ete w ith o n e

so u rce; D L A ad v ised th at th e in f o rm atio n receiv ed v ia a resp o n se o r a p r o p o sal w o u ld b e

co n sid ered in d eterm in in g w h eth er to co n d u ct a co m p etitiv e p ro cu rem en t. S ee ID T

, 8 1 F ed

. C l. at 3 8 5 -8 6

. In S h am ro ck F o o d s th e p ro testo r’s o w n o p eratio n w as in v ited to b id o n th e

co n tract to p ro v id e f

o o d serv ices f

o r F o rt B liss. S ee S h am ro ck F o o d s, 9 2 F ed

. C l. at 3 4 2

. T h ese in v itatio n s read ily set ID T an d S h am ro ck F o o d s ap art f ro m th is case an d o th ers th at in v o lv e n o n -b id d ers o r -o f f ero rs.

B l u e & G o ld F leet’s w aiv er ru le is g ro u n d ed in th e statu to ry im p erativ e th at in b i d

p ro tests “th e co u rts sh all g iv e d u e reg ard to th e in terests o f n atio n al d ef en se an d n atio n al

secu rity an d th e n eed

fo r exp ed itio u s reso lu tio n o f th e a ctio n .” B lu e & G o ld F leet, 4 9 2 F .3 d

at 1 3 1 3 (q u o tin g 2 8 U .S .C

. § 1 4 9 1 (b )). T o th at en d

, th e F ed eral C ircu it h eld th at a w aiv er

r u l e w as ap p ro p riate b ecau se it “p rev en ts co n tracto rs f ro m tak in g ad v an tag e o f t h e
g o v ern m en t an d o th er b id d ers, an d av o id s co stly af ter-th e-f act litig atio n .” Id

. at 1 3 1 4

. ID T

an d S h am ro ck F o o d s su g g est th at, in p articu lar f actu al circu m stan ces, th o se co n cern s ap p ly

eq u ally w h en th e p ro testo r d id n o t su b m it a b id in resp o n se to a so licitatio n

. In b o th cases,

cru cially

, th e ag en cy h ad g iv en p ro testo rs f u ll k n o w led g e o f th e term s o f th e so licitatio n th at

w o u ld g iv e rise to th eir ch allen g es, j u st as it w o u ld h av e to a b id d in g o r o f f erin g co n tracto r. In b o th cases t h e d a n g er o f p rej u d ice to th e G o v ern m en t w as th e sam e as if th e p ro testo rs

1 5h ad b een d isap p o in ted o f f ero rs, i.e.

, a p ro test w o u ld ren d er m o o t th e p ro cu rem en t ef f o rts to d ate an d p o ten tially req u ire ex p en d in g m o re tim e an d ef f o rt o n a rep ro cu rem en t. A s th e

co u rt p o in ted o u t in ID T

, th e w aiv er ru le p erm its th e G o v ern m en t an o p p o rtu n ity to ad d ress
p o ten tial d ef

ects in a so licitatio n at an early stag e in th e p ro cu rem en t p ro cess, th e r eb y

av o id in g w asted p ro cu rem en t ef f o rts. S im ilarly

, th e d an g ers o f p rej u d ice to o th er b id d ers

w ere also p resen t, w h eth er to th e aw ard ee w h o se co n tract aw ard w o u ld b e in j eo p ard y , o r
to th e d isap p o in ted b id d ers, th e d etails o f w h o s e s u b missio n s m ig h t b e rev ealed p rio r to
rep ro cu rem en t.

T h e k ey f acto r th at em erg es in ID T an d S h am ro ck F o o d s is th at it w as u n co n tro v erted th at th e ag en cy h ad g iv en n o tice d irectly to th e p ro testo rs in t h o s e cases, so th at it w as read ily ap p aren t th at th ey h ad f u ll k n o w led g e o f th e term s o f th e so licitatio n s at issu e an d

su f f icien t tim e an d o p p o rtu n ity to raise o b j ectio n s b ef

o re th e d ead l i n e f

o r p ro p o sal

s u b mi s s io n s. It is ax io m atic th at if a co n tracto r h as n o k n o w led g e o f th e te r ms o f a

so licitatio n , it sh o u ld n o t b e ch arg ed w ith th e d u t y t o b rin g an y p aten t erro rs in th at

so licitatio n to th e atten tio n o f th e ag en cy p rio r to th e clo se o f b id d in g

. S ee ID T

, 8 1 F ed

. C l.

at 3 8 9 (citin g K n o w led g e C o n n ectio n s, In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 7 9 F ed

. C l. 7 5 0

, 7 5 9 (2 0 0 7 ) (d eclin in g to f

in d w aiv er w h ere p ro testo r h ad n o n o tice o f t h e d e f e c t a lleg ed p rio r to th e clo se o f th e b id d in g p erio d )).

Wh at d issu ad es th is co u rt f ro m en d o rsin g a read in g o f B lu e & G o ld F leet th at w o u ld

a p p ly its w aiv er ru le to n o n -o f f erin g co n tracto rs th at o n th eir o w n h ad acq u i r e d t i me l y k n o w led g e o f th e term s o f th e so licitatio n in issu e is th e sam e p o licy u n d erg ird in g B lu e & G o ld F leet’s w aiv er ru le, viz. “th e n eed f o r ex p ed itio u s reso lu tio n o f th e actio n .” S ee 4 9 2
F .3 d at 1 3 1 3 (q u o tin g 2 8 U .S .C

. § 1 4 9 1 (b )). It w ill n o t serv e th at n eed if a p ro test f iled b y

a n o n -o f f erin g co n tracto r b eco m es en sn ared in an an cillary in q u iry targ eted to d eterm in in g

w h at th e co n tracto r k n ew ab o u t th e so licitatio n an d w h en it k n ew i t
, o r w h eth er th e

co n tracto r ch o se th e m o st ef f ectiv e m ean s to b rin g th e m atter to th e ag en cy ’s atten tio n

. T h e

case at b ar illu strates th e p o ten tial p itf alls o f co n stru in g B lu e & G o ld F leet to ap p ly to n o n

o f f erin g co n tracto rs.

P lain tif f

, u n lik e th e p ro testo rs in ID T an d S h am ro ck F o o d s, w as n o t in v ited to su b m it

a p ro p o sal in resp o n se to th e S o licitatio n

. R ath er, p lain tif f w as ex clu d ed f

ro m su b m ittin g
a p ro p o sal b y

th e S o licitatio n ’s term s, as th e S o licitatio n w as reserv ed to sm all b u sin esses h o ld in g N E T C E N T S -1 co n tracts. In th e case o f a co n tracto r th at i s i n v i t e d t o su b m it a
p ro p o sal, th e co n tracto r f

airly m ay b e ch arg ed w ith k n o w led g e o f th e term s o f a so licitatio n

. In th e in stan t m atter, b y co n trast, th e S o licitatio n w as n o t p u b licly ad v ertised

, an d p lain tif f

w as n o t in v ited to su b m it a p ro p o sal. With o u t an y f u rth er f acts, p lain tif

f s h o u ld n o t b e ch arg ed w ith k n o w led g e o f th e term s o f th e S o licitatio n , n o r sh o u ld su ch k n o w led g e b e im p u ted to p lain tif

f

.

1 6A s it h ap p en s, p lain tif f ’s letter to S en ato r C o rn y n , w h ich is in clu d ed i n t h e ad m in istrativ e reco rd

, d isclo ses th at p lain tif f h ad d em o n strated su f

f icien t k n o w led g e o f th e
term s o f th e S o licitatio n to p erm it p lain tif f to ref er to th e S o licitatio n b y

n u m b er, to lo d g e

a co m p lain t ab o u t th e N A IC S co d e assig n ed to th e S o licitatio n , an d to p ro test th at th e T in k er B T S serv ices w ere o u tsid e th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1

. S ee A R 9 2 4

. T h at letter is d ated
Ju n e 2 8

, 2 0 1 2

. S ee id

. It w as f o rw ard ed to th e A ir F o rce o n Ju ly 1 7

, 2 0 1 2

. S ee id

. at 9 2 2

. T h e T in k er B T S co n tract w as aw ard ed o n A u g u st 2 0

, 2 0 1 2 . S ee id . at 9 2 9 -4 3

. T h u s, lik e th e p ro testo rs in ID T an d S h am ro ck F o o d s, it ap p ears th at p lain tif f h ad acq u ired th e req u isite k n o w led g e o f

th e S o licitatio n ’s term s to b rin g its ch allen g e to th e A ir F o rce’s atten tio n in

a tim ely f ash io n

. F u rth erm o re, at th e tim e th at p lain tif f w ro te to S en ato r C o rn y

n , actio n o n th e S o licitatio n h ad b een stay ed b y th e S B A

, w h ich resu lted in a stay th at ex ten d ed th e clo se

o f th e p ro p o sal p erio d b y th ree w eek s an d an o th er m o n th b ey o n d th at tim e to co n tract aw ard

.

If B lu e & G o ld F leet w ere to ap p ly

, th e q u estio n to b e reso lv ed w o u ld b e w h eth er
p lain tif f o b j ected to th e term s o f th e S o licitatio n p rio r to th e d ead lin e f o r p ro p o sals, su ch th at it d id n o t w aiv e its ab ility to raise th e sam e o b j ectio n i n t h i s su it. P lain tif f h as p o in ted to b o th its letter to S en ato r C o rn y n an d J.D

. B ro co ’s S B A ap p eal as ev id en ce th at it raised its

o b j ectio n p rio r to th e clo se o f b id d in g

. A lth o u g h th e letter to S en ato r C o rn y n w as f o rw ard ed

to th e A ir F o rce’s O f

f ice o f L eg islativ e L iaiso n , see A R 9 2 2

, it can n o t co n stitu te raisin g an

o b j ectio n in a m an n er th at p erm itted t h e A ir F o rce to ad d ress a p o ten tial erro r in th e S o licitatio n

. T o h o ld o th erw ise w o u ld p erm it a co n tracto r to d isch arg e its o b lig atio n u n d er B lu e & G o ld F leet b y seek in g red ress th ro u g h its co n g ressio n al rep resen tativ es, w ith o u t
reg ard to w h eth er su ch ef f o rts af f o rd ed th e p ro cu rin g ag en cy an ad eq u ate o p p o rtu n ity to ad d ress p o ten tial erro rs in a so licitatio n

. T h e co ro llary is also p ro b lem atic; th e co n tractin g

o f f icer m ig h t h av e actu al k n o w led g e o f an alleg ed p aten t erro r in a so licitatio n th ro u g h a

co n g ressio n al o f

f ice d u rin g th e p erio d o f an au to m atic stay

. Wh y sh o u ld B lu e & G o ld F leet

req u ire su ch a f

actu al in q u iry w h en a n o n -o f f ero r h as co n tacted its legi s l a t i ve r e pr e sen tativ e?

P lain ti f f ’s citatio n to J.D

. B ro co ’s S B A ap p eal raises a m o re d if f icu lt q u estio n
reg ard in g to w h at ex ten t an o b j ectio n lo d g ed b y an o th er co n tracto r m ay b e im p u ted to a
p ro testo r th at h as “team ed as a p o ten tial su b co n tracto r” w ith th e co n t r a c t o r b rin g in g th e ch allen g e. S ee P l.’s B r. f iled Jan

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, at 8 . J.D . B ro co ’s ch allen g e to th e S o licitatio n b ef o re th e S B A w as th at th e A ir F o rce h ad ap p lied th e w ro n g N A IC S co d e to th e S o licitatio n an d th at, if

th e co rrect co d e h ad b een ap p lied

, th e resu lt w o u ld b e th at th e A ir
F o rce co u ld n o t p ro cu re th e T in k er B T S serv ices th ro u g h N E T C E N T S -1 . J.D . B ro co d id

n o t r a ise an o b

j ectio n to th e S o licitatio n o n th e b asis th at th e T in k er B T S serv ices w e r e

o u tsid e th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1

. T h e h o ld in g o f B lu e & G o ld F leet is th at “a p arty w h o h as th e o p p o rtu n ity

to o b j ect to th e term s o f a g o v ern m en t so licitatio n co n tain in g a p aten t

erro r an d f

ails to d o so p rio r to th e clo se o f th e b id d in g p ro cess w aiv es its ab ility to raise th e

sa m e o b jectio n su b seq u en tly in a b id p ro test actio n in th e C o u rt o f F ed eral C laim s.” 4 9 2
F .3 d at 1 3 1 3 (em

p h asis ad d ed ). T h e o b

j ectio n s th at th e T in k er B T S serv ices are o u tsid e th e

1 7sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 tech n ically w ere n ev er raised u n til p lain tif f f iled its co m

p lain t, alth o u g h th e co n tractin g o f f icer ack n o w led g ed th at sh e u n d ersto o d th e N A IC S o b j ectio n to im p licate th e sco p e o f

th e task o rd er. 6 /

In th e case o f a co n tracto r, lik e p lain tif f

, th at w as e x c l u d ed f

ro m su b m ittin g a
p ro p o sal b y a so licitatio n ’s term s an d d id n o t su b m it a p ro p o sal, th e p o te n t i a l f o r t i m eco n su m in g co llateral in q u iries is to o g reat to ig n o re, as th is case d em o n strates. In cen tiv izin g th e G o v ern m en t to lau n ch su ch in q u iries as p art o f d ef en d in g a p ro test d o es n o t serv e “th e

n eed f o r ex p e d i t i o u s r e s o l u tio n o f th e actio n ,” 4 9 2 F .3 d at 1 3 1 3 (q u o tin g 2 8 U .S .C

. § 1 4 9 1 (b )), th at p ro v id es th e ratio n ale f o r B lu e & G o ld F leet’s w aiv er ru le. A cco rd in g ly

, d esp ite p lain tif

f ’s k n o w led g e o f th e b asis f o r its o u tsid e-th e-sco p e o b j ectio n s p rio r to th e clo se o f th e b id d in g p erio d

, p lain tif f sh o u ld n o t b e req u ired to satisf y th e B lu e & G o ld F leet

w aiv er ru le in o rd er to ad d ress its o b j ectio n s th at th e S o licitatio n is o u tsid e t h e sco p e o f
N E T C E N T S -1 , an d th e co u rt ru les th at p lain tif f h as n o t w aiv ed its rig h t to d o so

.

IV . Wh eth er th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1

1 . S tan d ard o f

rev iew

T h e C o m p etitio n in C o n tractin g A ct, 1 0 U

. S

. C

. § 2 3 0 4 (S u p p

. V 2 0 1 1 ) (“C IC A ”),

g en erally req u ires th at th e G o v ern m en t p ro cu re p ro d u cts an d serv ices th ro u g h co m p etitiv e
p ro ced u res, ex cep t in a g iv en circu m stan ce. S ee 1 0 U .S .C

. § 2 3 0 4 (a). T h e F ed eral C ircu it h as h eld th at, in d eterm in in g w h eth er a m o d if icatio n to a co n tract ex ceed s th e sco p e o f th e

6 / T h i s c a s e n e c e s s i t a t e d a n a n c i l l a r y i n q u i r y t o a s c e r t a i n w h e t h e r p l a i n t i f f ’ s k n o w l e d g e o f t h e J

. D

. B r o c o S B A a p p e a l a f f o r d e d p l a i n t i f

f i t s o w n o p p o r t u n i t y t o l o d g e a B l u e & G o l d F l e e t c h a l l e n g e

. T h e c o u r t r e v i e w e d t h e e n t i r e r e c o r d o f t h e S B A p r o c e e d i n g ,

w h i c h p l a i n t i f

f s u b m i t t e d a s a s u p p l e m e n t a l a p p e n d i x

. T h a t r e c o r d r e v e a l e d t h a t t h e

c o n t r a c t i n g o f

f i c e r h e r s e l f u n d e r s t o o d J

. D

. B r o c o t o c h a l l e n g e t h e s c o p e o f t h e t a s k o r d e r

. S e e P l

. ’ s S u p p l

. A p p ’ x f i l e d J a n

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, a t A 1 5 7 ( “ T h e e m p h a s i s o f t h i s s o l i c i t a t i o n i s n o t

m e r e l y t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f t h e B T S

, b u t i t s c o n s t a n t o p e r a t i o n

. T h e s o l i c i t a t i o n i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h o s e c o n s i d e r e d e a r l i e r b y t h e O f f i c e o f H e a r i n g a n d A p p e a l s , i n t h a t i t e m p h a s i z e s t h e

c o n s t a n t o p e r a t i o n o f t h e s y s t e m , a n d r e q u i r e s t h e g o v e r n m e n t t o p u r c h a s e p a r t s a n d

e q u i p m e n t f

r o m t h e c o n t r a c t o r

. T h e c o n t r a c t o r r e c e i v i n g t h e a w a r d o f t h i s r e q u i r e m e n t w i l l

n o t m e r e l y m a i n t a i n t h e B T S ; b u t i t w i l l b e o p e r a t i n g t h e s y s t e m a n d e n s u r i n g c o n s t a n t

s e r v i c e

. ” )

. T h i s l e a d s t o a r i d i c u l o u s r e s u l t

. T h e c o u r t u n d e r t o o k a r e v i e w o f a s e p a r a t e

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e r e c o r d t o c o n f i r m t h a t a c o n t r a c t i n g o f f i c e r m a n i f

e s t e d k n o w l e d g e o f t h e b a s i s f o r p l a i n t i f

f ’ s s u b s e q u e n t p r o t e s t b y h e r r e s p o n s e t o a n o t h e r c o n t r a c t o r ’ s p r o t e s t o f t h e s a m e
p r o c u r e m e n t a c t i o n

. W h e t h e r t h i s k n o w l e d g e c o u l d b e t r a n s l a t e d i n t o o n

- p o i n t k n o w l e d g e i s p r o b l e m a t i c

. T h e c o u r t ’ s r e v i e w g l e a n e d t h e i n s i g h t t h a t t h i s t y p e o f a n c i l l a r y i n q u i r y i s

n o t w h a t t h e F e d e r a l C i r c u i t c o u l d h a v e c o n t e m p l a t e d b y i t s r u l i n g i n B l u e & G o l d F l e e t

.

1 8co n tract su ch th at C IC A w o u ld req u ire a co m p etitiv e p ro cu rem en t o f th e serv ices so u g h t b y th e m o d if icatio n , th e co u rt “ex am in es w h eth er th e co n tract as m o d if ied m aterially

d ep arts f ro m th e sco p e o f th e o rig in al p ro cu rem en t.” A T &T C o m m c’n s, In c. v

. Wiltel, In c., 1 F .3 d
1 2 0 1

, 1 2 0 5 (F ed . C ir. 1 9 9 3 ) (citatio n o m itted ). “A m o d if icatio n g en erally f

alls w ith in th e

sco p e o f th e o rig in al p ro cu rem en t if p o ten tial b id d ers w o u ld h av e ex p ected it to f all w ith in th e co n tract’s ch an g es clau se.” Id . (citatio n o m itted ).

T h e C o u rt o f F ed eral C laim s h as n o ted th at a sim ilar stan d ard ap p lies to th e q u estio n

o f w h eth er a task o rd er in creases th e sco p e o f its u n d erly in g co n tract, th ereb y n ecessitatin g

co m p etitiv e p ro cu rem en t p u rsu an t to C IC A

. S ee S o l u t e C o n su ltin g v

. U n ited S tates, 1 0 3
F ed . C l. 7 8 3

, 7 9 2 -9 3 (2 0 1 2 ). T h e co u rt sh o u ld co m p are th e serv ices d escrib ed in th e task

o rd er w ith th o se d escrib ed in th e co n tract, l o o k in g to w h eth er th e task o rd er in clu d es

serv ices o r p ro d u cts n o t co n tem p lated b y th e u n d erly in g co n tract. S ee id

. (citin g P h o en ix
A ir G rp ., In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 4 6 F ed

. C l. 9 0

, 1 0 5 -0 6 (2 0 0 0 ); O me g a W o r ld T rav el, In c.

v

. U n i t ed S tates, 8 2 F ed

. C l. 4 5 2

, 4 6 4 (2 0 0 8 )). T h is is a f act-sp ecif ic in q u iry

, req u irin g

an aly sis o f th e f

acts in lig h t o f th e p articu lar circu ms t a n c e s o f each case. S ee G lo b al
C o m p u te r E n t e r s ., In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 8 8 F ed

. C l. 3 5 0

, 4 2 7 (2 0 0 9 ) (citatio n s o m itted ) (d iscu ssin g in q u iry

in co n tex t o f

a m o d if icatio n to a co n tract).

2 . Wh eth er th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 b ecau se it is

a p ro cu rem en t so lely

f o r o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s

1 ) T h e p arties’ arg u m en ts

P lain tif f ’s f irst ch allen g e u rg es th at N E T C E N T S -1 d o es n o t co n tem p late o p eratio n

an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s o u tsid e th e c o n t e x t o f a tran sitio n at an in stallatio n to

n et w o rk -cen tric teleco m m u n icatio n s tech n o lo g y

. P l.’s B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 8 -3 1

. B ecau se th e S o licitatio n call s f o r p u rely o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s,
p lain tif f arg u es, it is th eref

o re o u tsid e th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1

. Id

. P lain tif f co m p ares th e p u rp o s e a

nd sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 w ith th at o f th e S o licitatio n to su p p o rt its arg u m en t. Id . at 1 0 -2 0

.

P lain tif f d raw s th e co u rt’s atten tio n f irst to th e p u rp o se o f N E T C E N T S

- 1 as stated in th at co n tract’s P erf

o rm an ce Wo rk S tatem en t (“P WS ”), w h ich read s:

T h e p u rp o se o f th is co n tract is to p ro v id e N e t w o rk -C en tric In f o rm atio n T ech n o lo g y , N etw o rk in g , T elep h o n y an d S ecu rity (N C I TNT S ), V o ice, V id eo

an d D ata C o m m

u n icatio n s C o m m ercial-o f f -th e-S h elf (C O T S ) p ro d u cts,
sy stem so lu tio n s an d sy stem s h ar d w are an d so f tw are to satisf

y th e
req u irem en ts f

o r in tero p erab ility

, co m

p atib ility

, an d reso u rce sh arin g o f b o th

1 9G o v ern m en t F u rn is h e d E q u ip m en t (G F E ) an d C o n tracto r F u rn ish ed

E q u ip m e nt ( CFE)

, s uppor t i ng t he Gl oba l In f

o rm atio n G rid (G IG ) arch itectu re.

Id

. at 1 0 (q u o tin g A R 2 7 4 ). In serv ice o f th at p u rp o se, th e P WS states th at N E T C E N T S -1 “p ro v id es f

o r th e acq u i s i t i o n o f N C IT N T S sy stem so lu tio n s, sy stem s m an ag em en t,

o p eratio n s an d m ain ten an ce su p p o rt, co n f ig u ratio n m an ag em en t, cen tralized lo g istics an d in v en to ry m an ag em en t su p p o rt, sp ares an d /o r su p p l i e s

. ” Id

. (q u o tin g A R 2 7 5 ). P lain tif f

arg u es th at it is ap p aren t f ro m th e N E T C E N T S -1 P WS th at th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 is th e rep lacem en t o f o ld teleco m m u n icatio n s sy ste ms w i th in teg rated

, n etw o rk ed teleco m m u n icatio n s sy stem s, n o t “ro u tin e m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s.” Id

. B y co n trast,
p lain tif f asserts, th e stated p u rp o se f o r th e S o licitatio n i s t h e p r o v isio n o f “ro u tin e O p eratio n s an d M ain ten an ce serv ices,” q u o tin g th e f o llo w in g lan g u ag e in th e S o licitatio n :

W o r k u n d er th is P erf

o rm an ce Wo rk S tatem en t (P WS ) sh all su p p o rt t h e

m issio n o f 7 2 A B W C o mmu n icatio n s D irecto rate (S C ) at T in k er A ir F o rce B ase (T A F B ), O K w ith h ig h ly reliab le teleco m m u n icatio n s an d n etw o rk ed

v o i ce, v id eo an d d ata serv ices. T h e C o n tracto r sh all p erf o rm mo n t h l y O p era t i ons an d M ain ten an ce (O &M ) serv ices, w o rk o rd ers, an d o th er serv ices f o r th e B ase T eleco m m

u n icatio n s S y stem (B T S ) an d b e av ailab le 2 4 h o u rs p er d ay , 7 d ay s p er w eek

.

S ee id . at 1 1 (q u o tin g A R 1 4 1 ). 7 /

N ex t, p lain tif

f p o in ts to th e list o f serv ices to b e p ro v id ed in th e N E T C E N T S -1 P WS

,
w h ich calls f

o r th e p ro v i s i o n o f serv ices “th ro u g h a lo g ical p ro cess o f p h ased actio n s”

p ro ceed in g , as f

o llo w s: “R eq u irem en ts an aly sis an d c o n cep tu al d esig n , [ s] ite su rv ey , [ s] y stem d esig n rev iew

, [ c] riti c a l d e sig n rev iew

, [ i] n stallatio n , [ i] n teg ratio n train in g an d testin g , [ a n d ] [ l] if

e cy cle su p p o rt.” Id

. at 1 0 -1 1 (q u o tin g A R 2 8 7 ). P lain tif f d raw s a d istin ctio n b etw een th o se serv ices an d th e serv ices listed in th e “S erv ices S u m m ary ” sectio n

o f th e S o licitatio n , w h ich p lain tif f ch aracterizes as n o t b ein g “th e so rt o f h ig h [ -] lev el d esig n

an d su p p ly o f i nt e gr a

t e d ne tw o rk so lu tio n s th at is clearly co n tem p lated in [ N E T C E N T S -1 ] .” Id

. at 1 1 -1 6 (citin g A R 1 7 0 -7 3 ). P lain tif f f u rth er arg u es th at w h i l e “lif e cy cle su p p o rt” is

a m ain ten an ce serv ice, th e S o licitatio n ’s P WS co n tem p lates “ l i fe

- c y c l e s uppor

t t o NCI TNTS

sy stem s[ ,] ” n o t leg acy

sy stem s. Id . at 1 6 (q u o tin g A R 3 0 0 ).

P lain tif f also c i t e s d if

f eren ces in th e lab o r req u ired u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 an d th e S o licitatio n

. Id

. at 1 8 -1 9

. N E T C E N T S -1 lists a b ro ad array o f w o rk f o rce ty p es, b ro k en in to

7 / P l a i n t i f

f ’ s b r i e f s t a t e s t h a t i t i s q u o t i n g A R 9

, b u t t h e q u o t e d l a n g u a g e d i f f e r s i n

m i n o r r e s p e c t s f

r o m t h a t o n A R 9 a n d a p p e a r s v e r b a t i m o n A R 1 4 1

. C o m p a r e A R 9 w i t h A R
1 4 1

.

2 0tw o categ o ries, th ereb y su g g e s tin g th at N E T C E N T S -1 is an im p lem en tatio n co n tract, n o t

an O & M c o n t r act. Id

. at 1 8 -1 9 ; see also A R 3 8 3

. B y co n trast, p lain tif f arg u es, th e S o licitatio n lists sp ecif

ic j o b d escrip tio n s targ eted to th e p ro v isio n o f m ain ten an ce serv ices,

an d in clu d es a site m an ag er in its list o f req u ired lab o r, w h ich N E T C E N T S -1 d o es n o t. Id

. at 1 9 (citin g A R

1 3 7 , 1 6 3 ).

F in ally

, p l a i n tif

f arg u es th at th e S o licitatio n m ak es clear th at th e leg acy sy stem s at T in k er are n o t b ein g rep laced w ith n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y

. Id

. at 3 0

. P lain tif f u rg es th at th e S o licitatio n co n tain s n o lan g u ag e callin g f o r th e p ro v isio n o f

n ew sy stem s, w h ich is th e p u rp o se o f N E T C E N T S -1

. Id

. at 3 0 -3 1

. P lain tif f also cites th e S o licitatio n ’s m ark et research d o cu m en t, w h ich states th at th e “an tiq u ated ” L u cen t 5 E S S sw itch at th e cen ter o f
T in k er’s teleco m m

u n icatio n s sy stem is n o t sch ed u led f o r d eco m m issio n in g u n til f iscal y ear 2 0 1 7 . Id . at 8 (citin g A R 9 ).

D ef en d an t d isp u tes p lain tif

f ’s ch aracterizatio n o f N E T C E N T S -1

, statin g th at it “in clu d es ev ery co n ceiv ab le teleco m m u n icatio n s serv ice.” D ef

.’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 4

. D ef

en d an t em

p h asizes th e en terp rise-w id e n atu re o f N E T C E N T S -1

, assertin g th at it is in ten d ed to b e “a to tal n etw o rk so lu tio n .” Id

. at 2 5 (citin g A R 7 0 6 ). T o acco m p lish th at
p u rp o se, N E T C E N T S -1 en co m p asses n o t o n ly th e p u rch ase an d in stall a t i o n o f n ew tech n o lo g y , b u t also th e o p eratio n an d m ain te n an ce o f leg acy sy stem s, sin g lin g o u t N E T C E N T S -1 ’s req u irem en t o f “su stain m en t o f d issim ilar m an u f actu rer’s s w i t c h in g
sy stem s

. . . an d leg acy sy stem s.” I d

. (q u o tin g A R 7 1 2 ). D ef en d an t f u rth er cites th e
req u irem en t th at th e co n tracto r “relo cate, o r rep lace, p erf o rm p rev en tiv e an d u n sch ed u led

m ain ten an ce, sy stem -lev el tro u b lesh o o tin g , [ an d ] p ro v id e p arts/sp ares rep air

. . . as d irected b y t h e T ask O rd er.” Id

. (q u o tin g A R 7 1 2 ). D ef en d an t also h ig h lig h ts lan g u ag e in
N E T C E N T S -1 reg ard in g ma in ten an ce o f th e A ir F o rce’s V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s, in clu d in g T in k er’s L u cen t 5 E S S sw itch :

T h e su p p o rt f

o r A ir F o rce’s V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s (see attach m en t 1 4 f o r

cu rren t f le e t o f sw itch es) w ill en co m p ass n ew in stallatio n , u p g rad e,
rep lacem en t, m ain ten an ce (ro u tin e, p rev en tiv e, u n sch ed u led

, em erg en cy )

. . . , relo catio n an d reu tilizatio n an d p o st cu to v er su p p o rt o f telep h o n e sw itch es,

. . . reco rd s m an ag em en t,

. . . [ an d ] v o ice/d ata/im ag ery /sen so ry an d v id eo

sw itch in g f

u n ctio n s[ .]

S ee id . at 4 -5 (q u o tin g A R 7 1 0 ).

A cco rd in g to d ef

en d an t, N E T C E N T S -1 “rep eated ly ” ref ers to c u r r en t teleco m m u n icatio n s tech n o l o g i e s

. I d

. at 2 5

. S ectio n 3 .3 .9 o f th e S o licitatio n , en titled
“M ain ten an ce,” states: “T h e sp e c i f i c m ain ten an ce req u irem en ts w ill b e sp ecif ied in th e T ask /D eliv ery O rd er an d m ay in clu d e m ain ten an ce o n sy stem s/eq u ip m en t n o t p u rch ased

2 1u n d er th is co n tract.” S ee id . at 2 6 (q u o tin g A R 7 2 4 ). S ectio n 3 .3 .1 0

, en titled “N C IT N T S O p erati ons , ” pr ovi de s : “ The Cont r a cto r sh all p ro v id e N C IT N T S o p eratio n s su p p o rt f o r b o th

sy stem s in stalled u n d er th is co n tract an d sy stem s cu rren tly f ield ed b y th e G o v ern m en t.” S ee id . (q u o tin g A R

7 2 4 ). D ef

en d an t also d irects th e co u rt’s atten tio n to th e sam p le p ro b lem s in clu d ed in th e S o licitatio n , w h ich r e q u ired th e co n tracto r to d escrib e its strateg y “f o r

su stain m en t activ ities in clu d in g activ e m an ag em en t, reliab le o p eratio n an d rap id resto ratio n

o f A ir F o rce V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s[ ,] ” an d sp ecif ically listed L u cen t sw itch es, lik e th at in p lace at T in k er, as p art o f th e “C u rren t T elep h o n y S w itch F leet to b e M ain tain ed [ .] ” S ee id . (citin g A R

7 9 5 -9 7 ); A R

7 9 5 -9 7

.

It is d ef en d an t’s p o sitio n th at t h e S o l i c i t atio n is n o t lim ited to th e m ain ten an ce o f

ex istin g sy stem s. T h e sam e lan g u ag e f ro m th e S o licitatio n , q u o ted b y p lain tif f , states th at th e co n tracto r w ill p ro v id e “n etw o rk ed v o ice, v id eo , an d d ata serv ices.” S ee D ef .’s B r. f iled
D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 7 (q u o tin g A R 1 4 1 ). D ef en d an t n o tes th e sim ilarity o f th at lan g u ag e to

t h e p u r p o s e lan g u ag e in N E T C E N T S -1

, statin g th at “th is co n tract is to p ro v id e N etw o rk

C en tric In f

o rm atio n T ech n o lo g y , N etw o rk in g , T elep h o n y an d S ecu rity (N C IT N T S ), V o ice,
V id eo an d D ata C o m

m u n icatio n s.” S ee id

. (q u o tin g A R 7 0 6 ). D ef en d an t a l s o c i tes lan g u ag e in th e S o licitatio n p ro v id in g f o r sy stem u p g rad es:

S u p p o rt req u irem en ts m ay o rig in ate f ro m tech n o lo g y ch an g es, h ard w are an d

so f t w a re sy stem s u p g rad es, reco n f ig u ratio n s, n ew o r ad d itio n al eq u ip m en t, lo cal area n etw o rk ed cab le in stallatio n s an d u p g rad es, an d D ial C en tral O f f ice (D C O ) reco n f

ig u ratio n s. T h is i nc l ude s r out i ng/ di ve r s i t y r e qui r em en ts an d an y

o th er en v iro n m en tal ch an g es th at co u ld im p act o r alter th e b a s e B T S

req u irem en ts.

S ee id

. at 2 8 (q u o tin g A R 1 4 2 ). T h at th e S o licitatio n c alls f o r sy stem u p g rad es also is ref lected in th e S o licitatio n ’s m ark et res e a r c h d o cu m en t, w h ich d iscu sses a tran sitio n to V o ice O v er In tern et P ro to co l (“V O IP ”) tech n o lo g y :

C h an g es in th e m ark et p lace h av e resu lted in m o v in g f o rw ard to V o ice O v er In tern et P ro to co l (V O IP ) v s. an alo g /co p p er req u irem en ts f o r p h o n es. T h is elim in ates th e n eed to co n tin u e to m ain tain /u p g rad e th e an tiq u ated 5 E S S
L u cen t S w itch sch ed u led f o r d eco m m issio n in g in F Y 1 7

.

A R 9 ; see D ef

.’s B r. f iled D ec. 3 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 1 1 (citin g A R 9 ), 2 9 (statin g th at S o l i c i t a t i o n “also in clu d es th e o p eratio n an d main ten an ce o f [ T in k er’s] n ew ly -acq u ired v o ice o v er in tern et p h o n e sy stem ”).

P lain tif f rej o in s th at d ef

en d an t h as tak en p ro v isio n s o f N E T C E N T S -1 o u t o f co n tex t

an d th at a f

u ller read in g o f th o se p ro v isio n s su p p o rts p lain tif f ’s v iew

. P l.’s B r. f

iled Jan

. 7

,

2 22 0 1 3

, at 1 1

. T h e N E T C E N T S -1 l a n g u ag e d iscu ssin g “su stain m en t o f d issim ilar

m an u f actu rer’s sw itch in g s y s t e ms

. . . an d leg acy sy stem s” ap p ears in a sectio n en titled
“In teg ratio n ” th at req u ires tech n o lo g ies p ro cu red u n d er th e co n tract to b e in tero p erab le. S ee id

. at 1 2 (citin g A R 7 1 1 ). P lain tif f arg u es th at th e o n ly m ain ten an ce d escrib ed in th at sectio n is th at w h ich is in cid en tal to th e in stallatio n o f n etw o rk -cen tric teleco m m u n icatio n s tech n o lo g y

. Id

. With resp ect to th e N E T C E N T S -1 p ro v isio n d iscu ssin g su p p o rt f o r th e A ir
F o rce’s v o ice sw itch in g sy stem s, p lain tif f n o te s t h a t th at lan g u ag e ap p ears in a sectio n

en titled “O b

j ectiv e,” w h ich d escrib es th e o b j ectiv e o f N E T C E N T S -1 as th e mi g r a t i o n to

n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g ies an d th e su p p o rt o f in teg ratio n ef f o rts. Id

. at 1 3 ( c i tin g A R
7 0 8 ). A g ain

, p lain t i f

f a r g u e s th at N E T C E N T S -1 calls f o r th e su p p o rt o f v o ice sw itch in g
sy stem s, lik e T in k er’s L u cen t 5 E S S sw itch

, o n ly in th e co n te x t o f m ig ratin g to n etw o rk

cen tric tech n o l o g i e s

. Id

. at 1 3 -1 4

. P lain tif f th eref o re p o sits th at a reaso n ab le co n tracto r

w o u ld n o t h av e f

o reseen th e p ro cu rem en t o f stan d -alo n e leg acy sy stem s m ain ten an ce u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 . Id . at 1 4 -1 5

.

With resp ect to S ectio n 3 .3 .1 0 o f N E T C E N T S -1

, p lain tif f n o tes th at sectio n b ears th e h ead in g , “N C IT N T S O p eratio n s,” a n d c a lls f o r th e p ro v isio n o f “N C IT N T S o p eratio n s

su p p o rt.” S ee id

. at 1 6 -1 7 (q u o tin g A R 7 2 8 ). Wh ile n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y is b ein g in stalled

, it is lo g ical th at th ere w ill b e a p erio d w h ere n ew tech n o lo g y an d leg acy sy stem s

m u st o p er a t e sid e-b y -sid e an d b e in tero p erab le, so th at th is sectio n co n tem p lates

m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s in th at co n tex t. Id

. at 1 7

. T h e S o licitatio n seek s to p ro cu re

o n ly m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s, p lain tif f arg u es, n o t m ain ten an ce as n ew tech n o lo g y is in stalled . Id

.

D ef en d an t’s f in al rip o ste is th at, w h ile in tero p erab ility d u rin g th e in stallatio n o f n ew tech n o lo g y is o n e o f th e g o als o f N E T C E N T S -1 , m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s, to o , is a stated g o al o f th at co n tract. D ef .’s B r. f iled Jan

. 1 4

, 2 0 1 3

, at 9

. D ef en d an t n o tes A ttach m en t 1 4 o f N E T C E N T S -1

, w h ich list s th e “C u rren t T elep h o n y S w itch F leet to b e M ain tain ed ”

an d in clu d es a lin e item f o r 7 L u cen t sw itch es, th e sam e m ak e as th e L u cen t 5 E S S sw itch
at T in k er. S ee id . at 9 (citin g A R 7 9 7 ).

2 ) T h e sco p e o f

N E T C E N T S -1 w ith resp ect to O &M serv ices

A s an in itial m atter, th e co u rt co n clu d es th at N E T C E N T S

- 1 c o n tem p lates th e

o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s in th e co n tex t o f a tran sitio n to n ew , n etw o rk

cen tric tech n o lo g ies, as is estab lish ed b y an ex am in atio n o f th e N E T C E N T S -1 P WS

. P er th e P WS , th e p u rp o se o f

N E T C E N T S -1

is to p ro v id e N etw o rk -C en tric In f o rm atio n T ech n o lo g y , N etw o rk in g , T elep h o n y an d Se c ur i t

y ( NCI TNTS)

, Voi c e , Vi de o an d D ata C o m m u n icatio n s C o m m ercial o f

f -th e-S h elf (C O T S ) p ro d u cts, sy stem so lu tio n s an d sy stem

2 3h ard w are an d so f tw are to satisf

y th e req u irem en ts o f in tero p erab ility

,
co m p atib ility

, an d reso u rce s ha r i ng of bot h Gove r nm e nt F u rn ish ed E q u ip m en t (G F E ) an d C o n tracto r F u rn ish ed E q u ip m en t (C F E ), su p p o rtin g th e G l o b a l
In f o rm atio n G ri d ( G IG ) arch itectu re. T h is co n tract, N etw o rk -C en tric
S o lu tio n s ( N E T C E N T S ), is d esig n ed as a f lex ib le en d -u ser so lu tio n to

em b race d iv erse cu rren t an d f u tu re n etw o rk -cen tric in f o r matio n tech n o lo g y
req u irem en ts, en su re in tero p erab ility th ro u g h stan d ard s-b ased tech n o l o g y (u sin g b o th G F E an d C F E ) an d im p lem en t th e co n stan t ev o lu tio n o f state-o f

th e-art tech n o lo g y an d sy stem so lu tio n s, su p p o rtin g in itiativ es an d p ro g ram s

su ch as, b u t n o t lim ited to
, th e D ef en se In f o rm atio n S y stem N etw o rk (D IS N ),
D ef en se S w itch N etw o rk (D S N ), D ef en se M essag e S y stem (D M S ), A ir F o rce S y stem N etw o rk (A F S N )

, S e c r e t In tern et P ro to co l R o u ter N etw o rk - ( SI PRNET)

, N o n -C lassif

ied In tern et P ro to co l Rout e r Ne t wor k

- ( NI PRNET) )

, D ef en se R esearch & E n g in eerin g N etw o rk (D R E N ), G lo b al C o m m an d an d
C o n tro l S y stem (G C C S ), G lo b al C o mb at S u p p o rt S y stem (G C S S ), C o m b at In f o rm atio n T ran sp o rt S y stem s (C IT S ) an d th e A ir F o rce’s V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s (V S S ).

A R 2 7 4

, 3 7 1

. T h u s, th e b ro ad ly -stated p u rp o se o f N E T C E N T S -1 is to ef f ect an en terp risew id e tran sitio n to n etw o rk -cen tric in f o rm atio n tech n o lo g y

. Wh ile th at p ro j ect in c l u d e s

su p p o rt o f th e A ir F o rce’s V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s, lik e th e leg acy sy stem in p l a c e a t T in k er, th e p u rp o se statem en t o f th e P WS e x p r e s s ly co n v ey s th at su ch su p p o rt is

co n tem p lated as p art o f t

he ove r a l l i m

pl em en tatio n o f n ew tech n o lo g ies. T h at u n d erstan d in g is rein f o rced b y th e m an n er in w h ich th e P WS ad d resses o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s in o th er p ro v isio n s.

S ectio n 1 .2 .2 o f th e P WS

, en titled “O b j ectiv e,” states th at N E T C E N T S -1 “ w i ll

p ro v id e su p p o rt to all G o v ern m en t assets reg ard less o f p u rch ase co n tract.” Id

. a t 2 7 6 -7 7

, 3 7 3 -7 4

. T h at sectio n g o es o n to d iscu ss th e A ir F o rce’s V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s
sp ecif ically :

T h e su p p o rt f

o r A ir F o rce’s V o ice S w itch in g S y stem s (see attach m en t 1 4 f o r

cu rren t f leet o f sw itch es) w ill en co m p ass n ew in stallat i o n , u p g rad e,
rep lacem en t, m ain ten an ce (ro u tin e, p rev en tiv e, u n sch ed u led

, em erg en cy ) an d

su stain m en t, ad m in istrativ e, en g in eerin g , tech n ical assistan ce, co n f ig u ratio n

m an ag em en t, relo catio n an d reu t i l izatio n an d p o st cu to v er su p p o rt o f telep h o n e sw itch es, d irecto ry serv ices, reco rd s m a na ge m e nt
, t

r oubl e t ick etin g , b illin g , secu rity

, m

u lti-task in g , cen tralized /d ec e n tralized o r d istrib u ted

p ro cessin g arch itectu res, v o ice/d ata/im ag ery /sen so ry an d v i d eo sw itch in g f u n ctio n s, an d serv e su b scrib ers in d ef in ed zo n es o r co m m

u n ities o f in terest.

2 4Id

. at 2 7 8

, 3 7 5

. Wh ile th at lan g u ag e su g g ests th at N E T C E N T S -1 req u ires su p p o rt o f leg acy

sy stem s, th e O b

j ectiv e sectio n b eg in s:

T h e o b j ectiv e o f th is co n tract is to p ro v id e g lo b al tech n ical in teg rated

so lu tio n s u n d er m

u ltip le aw ard s, In d ef

in ite-D eliv ery

/In d ef in ite-Q u an tity (ID /IQ ) T ask /D eliv ery O rd er ty pe c ont racts th at su p p o rt th e in teg ratio n ef f o rts

o f th e A ir F o rce an d th e D o D

. T h is co n tract activ ely su p p o rts th e m ig ratio n

o f n etw o rk -cen tric sy stem s an d co m m o n stan d ard d ata in to an in teg rated an d in tero p erab le G IG th at su p p o rts th e D ep artm en t’s Jo in t V isio n 2 0 2 0 co n cep t.

Id

. a t 2 7 6

- 7 7

, 3 7 3 -7 4

. A g ain

, th en , th e P WS d iscu sses su p p o rt o f p rev io u sly p u rch ased leg acy eq u ip m en t in th e co n tex t o f th e o v erall sh if

t to n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g ies.

T h e m o st d etailed d iscu ssio n o f m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s in th e N E T C E N T S -1
P WS ap p ears in S ectio n 3 .1 .1 ., “In teg ratio n ,” w h ich o p en s w ith th e statem en t:

T h e C o n t r a cto r sh all act as an in teg rato r an d f acilitato r to en su re th at th e
p u rp o se o f th is co n tract is m et. A ll eq u ip m en t an d so lu tio n s p ro v id ed u n d er th is co n tract sh all b e in tero p erab le an d p art o f an in teg rated so lu tio n m eetin g Jo in t In tero p erab ility req u irem en ts, Jo i n t In tero p erab ility T estin g C en ter ( J I T C ) re q u i r e me n t s , D e f e n s e S w i t c h e d N e t w o r k I n t e r o p e r a b i l i t y

r e q u i rem en ts, C IT S [ C o m b at In f o rm atio n T ran sp o rt S y stem ] in terf ace
req u irem en ts, V S S S y stem In terf ace S p ecif

icatio n req u irem en ts an d an y o th er
stan d ard s d o cu m en t id en tif ied w ith in th e P WS o r T ask O rd er.

Id

. at 2 7 9

, 3 7 6

. A f

ter sev eral p arag rap h s relatin g to d esig n an d im p lem en tatio n o f n etw o rk

cen tric tech n o lo g ies, th e sectio n d iscu sses m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s:

T h e C o n tracto r sh all p ro v id e g lo b al su p p o rt, h elp d esk su p p o rt, p lan n in g an d

su stain m en t o f d issim ilar m an u f actu rer’s sw itch in g sy stem s, ap p licatio n s,

su p p o rt an d p erip h eral eq u ip m en t related to V o i ce S w itch in g S y stem s an d leg acy sy stem s. T h e C o n tracto r s h a l l m ain tain an d su p p o rt h ard w are an d

so f tw are ap p licab le to th e V S S to in terf ace w ith

, b o th G o v ern m en t p ro v id ed

an d leased f

acilities. T h e C o n tracto r sh all p ro v id e serv ices to en g in eer, in teg rate, in stall, u p g rad e, resto re, relo cate o r rep lace, p erf o rm p rev en tiv e an d

u n sch ed ul e d m ain ten an ce, sy stem -lev el tro u b lesh o o tin g , p ro v id e p arts/sp ares
rep air an d retu rn cap ab ilities, m an ag e an d secu re A ir F o rce S y stem s an d V S S h ard w are/so f

tw are an d asso ciated su p p o rt eq u ip m en t an d f acilities as d irected b y th e T ask O rd er.

2 5Id

. at 2 8 0

, 3 7 7

. T h is sectio n ex p licitly co n tem p lates m ain ten an ce an d s u p p o rt o f leg acy
sy stem s, b u t d o es so u n d er th e h ead in g “In teg ratio n ,” f o llo w s sev eral p arag rap h s relatin g to th e tran sitio n to n ew tech n o lo g ies, an d n o tes in th e sam e p arag rap h th e n eed to “in terf ace.”
T h e th ru st o f th e q u o ted lan g u ag e is th at th e co n tracto r w ill b e req u ired to m ain tain leg acy
sy stem s to en su re th eir in teg ratio n an d ab ility to in terf ace w ith n ew tech n o lo g ies as th ey are in stalled

.

N o tab ly

, n o ex p ress d iscu ssio n o f o p era t io n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s is in clu d ed in th e P WS sectio n s h e a d e d “ M ain ten an ce,” “N C IT N T S O p eratio n s,” o r “L ifeC y cle S u p p o r t

. ” S ee id

. at 2 9 2 -9 3

, 2 9 6

, 3 0 0

, 3 8 9 -9 0

, 3 9 3

, 3 9 7

. S ectio n 3 .3 .9

, “M a i n t e n a n ce,” states: “T h e C o n tracto r sh all p ro v id e a w o rld w id e m ain ten an ce so lu tio n
cap ab ility (o n -site an d o n -site p er-call) fo r N C IT N T S sy stem s w ith q u alif ied m ain ten an ce
p erso n n el, an d lev erag e ex istin g O E M [ o rig in al eq u ip m en t m an u f actu rers] su p p o rt in f rastru ctu res to th e g reatest ex ten t p o ssib le.” Id

. at 2 9 2

, 3 8 9

. Wh ile th e sectio n d o es state th at th e m ain ten an ce req u i r e me n ts “m ay in clu d e m ain ten an ce o n sy stem s/eq u ip m en t n o t
p u rch ased u n d er th is co n tract[ ,] ” id

., th at statem en t is m ad e in th e co n tex t o f th e req u irem en t th at th e co n tracto r p ro v id e m ain ten an ce “f o r N C IT N T S ” so lu tio n s, see id

. R ead to g eth er,
t h e statem en ts in d icate th at th e co n tracto r m ay b e req u ired to p ro v id e m ain ten a n c e o f

n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g ies p u rch ased u n d e r a sep arate co n tract. T h at w o u ld n o t

en co m p ass leg acy sy stem s. T h e rem ain d er o f th e “M ain ten an ce” sectio n co n tain s n o o th er lan g u ag e th at m ig h t ref

er to leg acy

sy stem s. S ee id . at 2 9 2 -9 6 , 3 8 9 -3 9 3

.

N o ref eren ce in th e N E T C E N T S -1 P WS is m ad e to o p eratio n o f leg acy sy stem s. T h e

o n ly d iscu ssio n o f o p eratio n is f o u n d in S ectio n 3

. 3 .1 0

, “N C IT N T S O p eratio n s,” w h ich

req u ires th e co n tracto r to “p ro v id e N C IT N T S o p eratio n s su p p o rt f o r b o th sy stem s in stalled

u n d er th is co n t r a c t a n d sy stem s cu rren tly f ield ed b y th e G o v ern m en t.” Id

. at 2 9 6

, 3 9 3

. S im ilarly to th e “M ain ten an ce” sectio n , w h ile th is sectio n d iscu sses sy stem s n o t p u rch ased

u n d er N E T C E N T S -1

, it co n tem p lates th e p ro v isio n o f “N C IT N T S o p eratio n s su p p o rt.” It th u s req u ires th e co n tracto r to p ro v id e o p eratio n s su p p o rt to n etw o rk -cen tric sy stem s n o t
p u rch ased u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 , n o t leg acy sy stem s.

F in ally

, S ectio n 3 .6

., “L if e-C y cle S u p p o rt,” req u ires th e co n tr a c to r to “p ro v id e f o r th e d u ratio n o f th e co n tract an d w arran ty p erio d s lif e-cy cle suppor

t t o NCIT N T S sy stem s[ .] ” Id

. at 3 0 0

, 3 9 7

. T h e sectio n states th at su ch su p p o rt “in clu d [ es]

. . . m ain ten an ce su p p o rt (ro u tin e, p rev en tativ e, u n sch ed u led

, em erg en cy )

. . . f o r all D o D o w n ed an d /o r m an ag ed

eq u ip m en t/sy stem assets

. ” Id

. T h e p h rase “all D o D o w n ed an d /o r m an ag ed

eq u ip m en t/sy stem assets” m ig h t b e read to in clu d e leg acy sy stem s, b u t it ap p ears i n th e

co n tex t o f a p ro v isio n req u irin g lif e-cy cle su p p o rt f

o r n e t w o rk -cen tric sy stem s, th ereb y in d icatin g th at it is m ean t to ref e r t o a l l D o D o w n ed an d /o r m an ag ed n etw o rk -cen tric

eq u ip m en t/sy stem

assets.

2 6T h u s, th e co u rt co n clu d es th at, to th e ex ten t th at N E T C E N T S -1 co n tem p lates th e

o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy teleco m m u n icatio n s sy stem s, it d o es so in th e co n tex t

o f th e en terp rise-w id e tran si tio n to n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y th at N E T C E N T S -1 is to ef f ect.

3 ) T h e sco p e o f th e S o licitatio n

T h e co u rt co n clu d es th at th e S o licitatio n d o es n o t seek to p ro cu re o n ly o p eratio n an d

m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s, as th e reco rd d em o n strates th at a t r a n s i t i o n to n etw o rk

c en tric tech n o lo g ies, n am ely V O IP

, at T in k er is u n d erw ay

. A s th e C o o rd in atio n a n d
A p p ro v al d o cu m en t f

o r th e f irst ex ten sio n o f N E T C E N T S -1 n o tes, V O IP is o n e o f th e

n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g ies to b e im p lem en ted u n d er N E T C E N T S -1 :

T h e A ir F o rce h as also u sed th e N E T C E N T S co n tractin g v eh icle to u p g rad e its f ield ed teleco m m

u n icatio n s sw itch es, in co rp o ratin g u n if ied

, stan d ard ized

cap ab ilities su ch as “V o ice o v er IP ” to p ro v id e secu re, sw if t, an d reliab le

v o ice co m m

u n icatio n w ith in th e ex istin g telep h o n e sy stem
, an d m o re im p o rtan tly

, to su p p o rt fu tu re n etw o rk -b ased v o ice cap ab ilities f o llo w in g th e

sam e stan d ard s.

A R 4 7 8

.

T h e m ark et research d o cu m en t f o r th e T in k er B T S serv ices d iscu sses th e tran sitio n
to V O IP tech n o lo g y

at T in k er:

C h an g es in th e m ark et p lace h av e resu lted in m o v in g f o rw ard to V o ice O v er In tern et P ro to co l (V O IP ) v s. an alo g /co p p er req u irem en ts f o r p h o n es. T h is elim in ates th e n ee d to co n tin u e to m ain tain /u p g rad e th e an tiq u ated 5 E S S
L u cen t S w itch sch ed u led f o r d eco m m issio n in g in F Y 1 7

.

Id

. at 9

. T h e d o cu m en t co n tin u es to state th at th e A ir F o rce is “p res e n tly im p lem en tin g ”
V O IP at T in k er, an d th at it “h as in v e s t e d in V O IP tech n o lo g y an d is p resen tly

p lan n in g /im

p lem en tin g t r an sitio n in g f ro m an alo g to V O IP b ase w id e.” Id

. at 1 2

. T h e
acq u isitio n p lan f

o r T in k er B T S serv i c e s a l s o n o tes th e n eed f o r th e co n tracto r to p ro v id e

m ain ten an ce o f

“T elep h o n e, (A n alo g & V O IP )[ .] ” Id . at 2 4

.

T h at th e S o licitatio n calls f o r o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s, as w ell

as th e im p lem en tatio n an d m ain ten an ce o f V O IP tech n o lo g y , is ref lected in th e S o licitatio n itself

. T h e S o licitatio n ’ s P W S in d icates at th e o u tset th at it calls f o r serv ices b ey o n d

o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f leg acy sy stem s in th e sco p e o f w o rk sectio n an d th e sectio n d iscu ssin g b ase m issio n req u irem en ts. T h e P WS ’s sco p e o f w o rk states th at th e co n tract w ill

2 7p ro v id e “h ig h ly reliab le tele c om m uni c a t i ons a

nd ne tw o rk ed v o ice, v id eo an d d ata serv ices.” Id

. at 1 4 1

. M o re sp ecif ically

, th e P WS req u ires th e co n t r a c t o r to “in stall G o v ern m en t P ro v id ed E q u ip m en t (G F E ) w h en au th o rized to in clu d e F ib er cab in ets an d w all rack s.” Id

.

T h e S o licitatio n req u ires th e co n tracto r to “f u rn ish C O T S p ro d u cts n eed ed to d ev elo p , in stall, d esig n , m ain tain an d /o r u p g rad e B ase T eleco m m u n icatio n s S e rv ices at T in k er[ .] ” Id

. at 7 4

. T h e C O T S p ro d u cts ref eren ced are listed in co n tract lin e item n u m b er X 0 0 3

, w h ich co n s i s t s o f 5 2 5 item s in clu d in g telep h o n es, h an d sets, p an els, cab le, an d

co n d u it. S ee id

. at 7 4

, 1 1 4 -3 2

. S ev eral o f th o se item s ref lect th e in stallatio n o f f

ib er o p tic cab le, co n sisten t w ith th e m ark et research d o cu m en t’s d iscu ssion of t h e tran sitio n aw ay f

ro m

an alo g tech n o lo g y

. S ee id

. at 9

, 1 1 7 -2 1

, 1 2 3 -2 5

, 1 2 7

, 1 3 0

. T h e S o licitatio n th eref o re

co n tem p lates th e im

p lem en tatio n o f

n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g y

.

T h e S o licitatio n also calls f o r m ain ten an ce o f th e leg acy teleco m m u n icatio n s sy stem s
at T in k er. T h e S o licitatio n ’s P WS req u ires th e co n tracto r to “p ro v id e a l l p e r s o n n el,

eq u ip m en t, p arts, m aterial, to o ls, lab o r, v eh icles, an d an y o th er item s an d serv ices n ecessary
t o p e r f o r m O &M o f th e B T S .” A R 1 4 5

. T h e co n tracto r is to “p erf o rm O &M o f t h e telep h o n e sw itch in g sy stem (s) an d its asso ciated p o w er p lan t, tran sm issio n eq u i p me n t
,
an cilla r y e q u ip m en t, C u sto m er P rem ise E q u ip m en t (C P E ). O &M su p p o rt an d serv ices in clu d e b o th th e in sid e an d o u tsid e cab le p lan t f o r telep h o n e an d n etw o rk in f rastru ctu re.” Id

. T h e P WS sp ecif

ically req u ires th at th e co n tracto r p erf o rm b ack u p s o f th e L u cen t 5 E S S

sw itch

. Id

. at 1 4 6

. T h u s, th e S o licitatio n co n tem p lates th e m ain ten an ce o f T in k er’s leg acy
sy stem alo n g sid e th e im

p lem en tatio n o f

V O IP tech n o lo g y

.

4 ) Wh eth er th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1

NETC E N T S -1 en co m

p asses w ith in its sco p e th e o p era t i on a nd m a i nt e na

nc e of l e ga c y teleco m m u n icatio n s sy stem s in th e co n te x t o f a tran sitio n to th e n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o lo g ies N E T C E N T S -1 w as p u t in p lace to p ro cu re. T h e S o licitatio n co n tem p lates j u st

s u ch o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce serv ices, as it req u ires th e o p eratio n an d m ain ten an ce o f
T in k er’s an alo g telep h o n y sy stem s w h ile th e in stallatio n tran sitio n s t o V O I P tech n o lo g y

. T h u s, th e co u rt f

in d s an d co n clu d es th at th e S o licitatio n is w ith in th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S

1 , an d C IC A d o es n o t req u ire an o p en p ro cu rem en t o f th e T in k er B T S serv ices.

3 . Wh eth er th e S o licitatio n in creases th e sco p e o f N E T C E N T S -1 as

co n strain ed b y

th e f irst ex ten sio n

P lain tif f ’s seco n d ch allen g e is th at N E T C E N T S -1 w as ex ten d ed to allo w f o r f o llo w

o n serv ices to th o se serv ices p ro v id ed d u rin g th e o rig in al term o f N E T C E N T S -1

. S ee P l.’s
B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 3 -2 4 ; P l.’s B r. f iled Jan

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, at 4 -5

. P lain tif f asserts th at th e S o licitatio n d o es n o t rep resen t N E T C E N T S -1 f o llo w -o n serv ices b ecau se n o eq u ip m en t h as

2 8b een p ro cu red th ro u g h N E T C E N T S -1 at T in k er an d n o N E T C E N T S -1 co n tract h o ld er h as

p ro v id ed B T S serv ices at T in k er. S ee P l.’s B r. f iled D ec. 1 1

, 2 0 1 2

, at 2 4 ; P l.’s B r. f iled Jan

. 7 , 2 0 1 3 , at 5

.

P lain tif f m isco n ceiv es th e n atu re o f f o l l o w -o n serv ices u n d er N E T C E N T S -1

. N E T C E N T S -1 w as d esig n ed to p ro v id e an en terp rise-w id e teleco m m u n icatio n s so lu tio n

. S ee A R 3 7 3 -7 4 (“T h e o b j ectiv e o f th is co n tract i s t o p ro v id e g lo b al tech n ical in teg rated

so lu tio n s

. . . th at su p p o rt th e in teg ratio n ef f o rts o f th e A ir F o rce an d th e D o D .”). S u ch an

u n d ertak in g n ecessarily o ccu rs i n a p i e cem eal f ash io n , w ith th e im

p lem en tatio n o f n ew tech n o lo g y at certain in stallatio n s b ef o re o th ers. T o d eterm in e w h eth er serv ices f o llo w o n
to th e o rig in al co n tract, th en , th e ap p ro p riate sco p e o f rev iew is th e e n t i r e en terp rise, n o t in d iv id u al in stallatio n s. U n d er p lain tif f ’s v iew

, if th e A ir F o rce h ad n o t b eg u n th e tran sitio n
to n etw o rk -cen tric tech n o l o g i e s at an in stallatio n d u rin g th e in itial o r o p tio n term s o f
N E T C E N T S -1

, it co u ld n o t th en b eg in su ch a tran sitio n d u rin g an y ex ten sio n p erio d

. T h at i s at o d d s w ith th e en terp rise-w id e n atu re o f th e N E T C E N T S -1 p ro j ect. F o r th e reaso n s d iscu ssed ab o v e, th e serv ices d escrib ed in th e S o licitatio n are w ith i n t h e s co p e o f
NETCENTS- 1, a

nd t he y t he r e for e co n stitu te f

o llo w -o n serv ices to th e o rig in al N E T C E NTS1 co n tract. T h is arg u m en t ag ain st th e sco p e o f th e S o licitatio n , issu ed as a task o rd er to th e N E T C E N T S -1 co n tract, d o es n o t p rev ail.

V . In j u n ctiv e relief

T u rn in g to an ex am in atio n o f th e f acto r s t o b e w eig h ed in d eterm in in g w h eth er to
g ran t in j u n ctiv e relief

, th e co u rt f

in d s th at p lain tif

f is n o t en titled to an in

j u n ctio n p ro h ib itin g th e A ir F o rce f

ro m p ro cee d in g w ith T elo s as its co n tracto r. F irst, as d iscu ssed ab o v e,
p lain tif f h as n o t su cceed ed o n th e m erits. S eco n d

, p lain tif f estab lish ed th at it h as su f f ered irrep arab le h arm

b ecau se it lo st th e o p p o rtu n ity to co m p ete o n a co n tract f

o r w h ich , as th e in cu m b en t, it w o u ld h av e b een ex p ected to su b m it a p ro p o sal. T h is co u rt h as h eld th at lo ss

o f an o p p o rtu n ity to co m

p et e c o n stitu tes irrep arab le h arm

. S ee D ef

. T ech

., In c. v

. U n ited
S tates, 9 9 F ed

. C l. 1 0 3

, 1 3 1 (2 0 1 1 ) (citin g D G R A sso cs., In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 9 4 F ed

. C l.
1 8 9

, 2 1 0 -1 1 (2 0 1 0 ); M ag n u m O p u s T ech s., In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 9 4 F ed

. C l. 5 1 2

, 5 4 4 (2 0 1 0 )); see g en erally E ssex E lectro E n g ’rs, In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 3 C l. C t. 2 7 7

, 2 8 7 (1 9 8 3 ).

T h ird

, p lain tif

f h as n o t sh o w n th at th e b alan ce o f h ard sh ip s tip s in its f av o r. P lain tif

f

w aited o v er tw o m o n th s af ter th e co n tract at issu e w as aw ard ed b ef o re f ilin g its b id p ro test, d u rin g w h ich tim e th e tran sitio n o f th e T in k er B T S serv ices to T elo s h ad o ccu rred an d th e f irst o p tio n p erio d u n d er th e n ew B T S co n tract h ad co m m en ced

. S u ch a d elay n eg ativ ely im p acts p lain tif

f ’s sid e o f th e scale. S ee E lm en d o rf S u p p o rt S erv s. Jo in t V en tu re v

. U n ited
S tates, 1 0 5 F ed

. C l. 2 0 3

, 2 1 0 (2 0 1 2 ) (“E q u ity aid s th e v ig ilan t, n o t th o se w h o slu m b er o n th eir rig h ts.” (citatio n s o m itted )); Wit A sso cs., In c. v

. U n ited S t a t es, 6 2 F ed

. C l. 6 5 7

, 6 6 2

n .5 (2 0 0 4 ) (“O f co u rse, in so m e cases, serio u s d elay in rai s i n g a claim m ay im p act th e

2 9e q u ities in d eterm in in g w h eth er an in j u n ctio n sh o u ld issu e o r lead to th e im p o sitio n o f lach es.”); S o f

tw are T estin g S o lu tio n s, In c. v

. U n ited S tates, 5 8 F ed

. C l. 5 3 3

, 5 3 5 (2 0 0 3 ) (“[ D ] elay in b rin g in g a p ro test u n d o u b ted ly m ay b e co n sid ered in th e m u lti-f acto red an aly sis

o f w h eth er in

j u n ctiv e relief is w arran ted [ .] ”); see also B lu e & G o ld F leet, 4 9 2 F .3 d at 1 3 1 5

- 1 6 (citin g Wit A sso cs. an d S o f tw are T estin g S o lu tio n s). A lth o u g h p lain tif f asserts th at th e
tran sitio n to T elo s “w as acco m p lish ed sp eed ily

an d w ith o u t d elay ,” an d co n seq u en tly th at “th ere is n o reaso n w h y a tran sitio n in th e rev erse sh o u ld b e an y m o re d if f icu lt,” P l.’s B r. f iled Jan

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, at 2 2

, th at statem e n t b o t h i s u n su p p o rted b y an y sw o rn d eclaratio n an d f ails to tak e in to acco u n t th e im p lem en tatio n o f V O IP tech n o lo g y at T in k er. Wh en w eig h in g th e co sts o f term in atin g th e T elo s co n t r a ct, p articu larly in lig h t o f th e tran sitio n th at h ad alread y o ccu rred b y th e tim e p lain tif f f iled its co m

p lain t, th e b alan ce o f h ard sh ip s d o es n o t f av o r p lain tif

f

.

F in ally

, th e p u b lic in terest w o u ld n o t b e serv ed b y g ran tin g in j u n ctiv e relief

. P lain tif f

arg u es th at in

j u n ctiv e relief is n e cessary to serv e th e p u b lic in terest in m ain tain in g th e in teg rity o f th e g o v ern m en t p ro cu rem en t p ro cess. S ee P l.’s B r. f iled Jan

. 7

, 2 0 1 3

, at 2 2 -2 3

. B ecau se th is p ro cu rem en t p ro ceed ed p ro p erly as a task o rd er issu ed u n d er an ID /IQ co n tract, in j u n ctiv e relief

w o u ld n o t ach iev e th is en d

.

C O N C L U S IO N

A cco rd in g ly

, b ased o n t h e f o reg o in g , p lain tif

f ’s m o tio n to am en d its co m p lain t is

g ran ted

, d ef

en d an t’s cro ss-m o tio n f

o r j u d g m en t o n th e ad m in istrativ e reco rd is g ran ted

, an d

p lain tif f ’s m o tio n f

o r j u d g m en t o n th e ad m in istrativ e reco rd is d en ied

. 8 / T h e C lerk o f th e C o u rt sh all en ter j u d g m en t f o r d ef en d an t.

IT IS S O O R D E R E D

.

N o co sts.

/s / C h r i s t i n e O

. C

. M i l l e r

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C h r i s t i n e O d e l l C o o k M i l l e r J u d g e

8 / I t i s u n n e c e s s a r y t o r u l e o n d e f e n d a n t ’ s m o t i o n t o d i s m i s s p u r s u a n t t o R C F C
1 2 ( b ) ( 1 ) a n y c l a i m t h a t p l a i n t i f f h a s c h a l l e n g e d t h e N E T C E N T S

- 1 e x t e n s i o n i t s e l f

. A l t h o u g h
d e f e n d a n t ’ s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f p l a i n t i f f ’ s c o m p l a i n t i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e , p l a i n t i f f ’ s c h a l l e n g e s

w e r e d i r e c t e d t o t h e s c o p e o f N E T C E N T S

- 1 a n d t h e t a s k o r d e r

.

3 0