Court Opinion

ID: 9784616
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 20:49:42.41447+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:35:56.975615
License: Public Domain

McKEE, J. Pro Tern
dissents:
I respectfully dissent from the majority decision concluding that Fieldturf has waived its right to a remedy in this case by failing to follow procedures spelled out in the notice for bid and in Idaho Code § 67-5733.
The invitation for bids does contain a mechanism for prospective bidders to notify the state if they believe the specifications contain ambiguities. However, the record is devoid of any evidence to support the conclusions stated by the majority that this mechanism is a prerequisite to claiming a breach, or that a prospective bidder would waive any rights if this mechanism were not followed.
The majority conclusion that failing to follow the strictures of Idaho Code § 67-5733 operates as a waiver, or somehow restricts the remedies available to an objecting bidder, is also flawed. I.C. § 67-5729, which introduces the cited section, states, “This section shall not impair any contract right or con*389tract remedy which may exist between the state and a properly licensed contractor or vendor.”
Although the state’s attorney objected to the remedies requested on other grounds, neither of the issues relied upon by the majority to eliminate Fieldturfs remedies in this case were raised before the district court, addressed in the district court’s decision, contained in the briefing on appeal or argued at oral hearing. Neither the reach of the provision in the invitation for bids nor the extent of the statute has been construed in any other Idaho case. By providing that any bidder who does not follow the notification mechanism to object in advance of a bid opening will be deemed to have waived its rights to object later, and further construing that the provisions of I.C. § 67-5733 provide the exclusive remedy to challenge a defective bid procedure, notwithstanding the provisions of I.C. § 67-5729, the majority has wandered into an area it was not invited to explore and invented waivers and restrictions on remedies it was not asked to do, purely sua sponte. It has done so without the analysis of counsel for the parties and on an abbreviated record that does not contain facts sufficient to illuminate the necessary assumptions for a declaration of law, one way or the other.
While the record is sufficient to necessitate a reversal of the order granting summary judgment, on the limited record available to this appeal I would reverse the order of the district judge and remand the matter for a full exploration and consideration of all issues and remedies by the district court.