Opinion ID: 1920417
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: 4a THE CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIM

Text: Candee claims that the actions of James Myers gave rise to an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Candee contends it was denied a property right without procedural and substantive due process when defendant Myers refused to allow Candee to bid on another highway construction project. Under the Administrative Rules, before a prospective bidder may bid on state highway construction projects over $100,000.00, it must obtain a classification and maximum rating from DOT each year. A.R.S.D. 70:01:05:02. In April 1985 the prequalification committee for DOT issued a letter that prequalified Candee to bid on a maximum of $38,130,000.00 in highway construction projects. In 1985 Candee requested the plans to bid on project 41, another highway construction project in the Black Hills. On August 12, 1985, Myers denied Candee's request for a proposal and plans on the 41 project. This decision was based on paragraph 2.3 of the Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges, 1977 edition under which DOT reserves the right to refuse to issue a proposal if a bidder has uncompleted work which, in the judgment of the department, might hinder or prevent the prompt completion of additional work if awarded and in cases of unsatisfactory performance on previous work. Myers noted that Candee had failed to meet the completion dates for projects 48 and 45, causing inconvenience to the traveling public and economic loss to businesses dependent upon them. Following the denial to furnish bidder forms, Candee requested a hearing before the highway commission. The commission found that Myers had acted correctly and upheld his decision to deny Candee bidding rights on the 41 project. This hearing and decision occurred six days before the 41 project's bid letting. Candee did not appeal from the commission's decision. Candee claims that its prequalification to bid on highway construction contracts is a property right, and, as a result, it was entitled to a predeprivation hearing before that right could be removed. The circuit court held that the meeting before the highway commission constituted a predeprivation hearing. It is undisputed that Candee was given a hearing before the State Highway Commission before the 41 project's bid letting. Whether or not the right to bid on a highway construction project is a constitutionally protected property right is moot because the hearing before the highway commission afforded Candee adequate due process. We express no opinion whether a § 1983 plaintiff must exhaust state court remedies or whether there exists a qualified immunity in this case.