If any of your work involves public bid construction, you should
be familiar with the legal principles applicable to public bidding
and bid protests. You may find yourself in a situation where you
don't believe the low bidder has met the bid solicitation
requirements or, conversely, another bidder may be challenging your
bid and seeking to have the public agency throw out your low
bid.
For example, say a solicitation is issued for reroofing a
portion of a local high school. You probably think you have a good
chance of landing the job at a decent price because the job is
close to you, you're familiar with the school and you have ideas
how the job can be done efficiently.
On bid day, you submit your sealed bid for $265,500, which is a
tight price but a price you believe can result in a profitable job
for you. To your dismay, you learn at the bid opening that you were
the second-lowest of nine bidders and the low bid, from an
out-of-state contractor, was $252,000. You are not familiar with
the low bidder and don't recall seeing a representative of the low
bidder at the mandatory pre-bid conference and walk-through held at
the high school two weeks earlier. You ask to review the bid form
and bid bond submitted by the low bidder and see the bid bond was
signed by a representative of the surety but not the
contractor.
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