In such circumstances, a court should not substitute its judgment for that of the agency. Farm Mutual Auto. This limited scope of review is in accord with the fundamental principle that judicial review of discretionary agency action is not de novo, but is limited to review of the administrative record. That record consists of the materials and files that were before the agency at the time the decision was made, not materials adduced through discovery by opponents of the agency's action or de novo proceedings in the court. The only exceptions to this principle apply in the unusual case in which a court determines that the administrative record presented by the agency does not provide an adequate basis for judicial review.
Courts routinely grant protective orders in record review cases precluding the taking of discovery.
The government may not be compelled to perform a contract specifically. Consistent with this doctrine, the authority to grant injunctive relief to a disappointed bidder upon a government contract does not include authority to order the government to award a contract to the particular bidder. If the implied duty to consider a bid fairly is breached, in addition to seeking injunctive relief, a bidder may seek damages because the claimant was put to needless expenses in preparing its bid.