Opinion ID: 185276
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Do petitioners have standing?

Text: 14 The irreducible constitutional minimum for standing in an Article III courtis that the petitioner was injured in fact, that its injury was caused by the challenged conduct, and that its injury would likely be redressed by a favorable decision of the court. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 (1992). NextWave Inc., intervening in defense of the Com- mission, argues that Airwaves lacks standing because it can demonstrate neither that it was injured in fact nor that its alleged injury is redressable. 15 A bidder in a government auction has a right to a legally valid procurement process; a party allegedly deprived of this right asserts a cognizable injury. DIRECTV, Inc. v. FCC, 110 F.3d 816, 829 (D.C. Cir. 1997). A disappointed bidder need not ... demonstrate that it would be successful if the contract were let anew but only that it was  'able and ready to bid ... and that the [rule] prevent[ed] it from doing so on an equal basis.'  Id. at 829-30 (quoting Northeastern Fla. Chapter of Assoc. Gen. Contractors of America v. City of Jacksonville, 508 U.S. 656, 666 (1993)). Of course, in order to show that its injury is redressable, a disappointed bidder must demonstrate that it is ready, willing, and able to participate in a new auction should it prevail; but it need not demonstrate that it will participate in such an auction regard- less of the circumstances then prevailing. See Orange Park Florida T.V., Inc. v. FCC, 811 F.2d 664, 672 & n.18 (D.C. Cir. 1987). 16 Airwaves meets these requirements. It submitted bids in the original C-block auction but dropped out before securing any licenses. It claims that it would have bid more had it known that financial terms more favorable than those an- nounced at the time of the auction would later be offered to winning bidders. Airwaves further affirms, in the sworn declaration of its chief executive, that it intends to bid in a future reauction of PCS spectrum and that it is able to raise the capital necessary to do so. That is sufficient. 17 NextWave also argues that Airwaves cannot base its stand- ing upon its participation in the original auction because Airwaves acknowledges that the original auction was fair; Airwaves challenges only the way in which the Commission treated licensees after the auction was completed. In this argument, however, NextWave misapprehends Airwaves' claim, which is that post-auction revisions to the financing options available to the high bidders constitute impermissibly retroactive changes to the initial auction rules. There is no basis for suggesting, as NextWave seems to do, that ex post changes can never affect the validity of a government auction. 18 Finally, NextWave argues that Airwaves fails to demon- strate that its claim is redressable by this court because it does not allege that when it petitioned for review of the new rules it was ready, willing, and able to bid in a new auction. NextWave asserts that as of that date Airwaves had returned all its investment capital to its investors and was not in good standing in the State of Delaware because of a tax dispute, for both of which reasons it would have been unable to bid in any new auction that the Commission might have conducted. NextWave's premise is correct: Standing is determined as of the date an action is filed, see Smith v. Sperling, 354 U.S. 91, 93 n.1 (1957); but NextWave offers no persuasive reason to think either that Airwaves lacked access to capital on that date or that it would not have resolved its tax dispute in Delaware had that been necessary in order to bid in a new auction. (In fact, the tax matter was resolved soon after the filing.) Absent any evidence to the contrary, Airwaves' asser- tion that it was ready, willing, and able to participate in a rerun of the C-block auction satisfies the redressability re- quirement. 19 Having determined that Airwaves has standing, we do not need to reach the question whether Sprint Spectrum L.P. has standing as well, for Sprint presents no arguments beyond those made by Airwaves. See Railway Labor Executives' Ass'n v. United States, 987 F.2d 806, 810 (D.C. Cir. 1993) ([I]f one party has standing in an action, a court need not reach the issue of the standing of other parties when it makes no difference to the merits of the case). 20