Barriere Const. v. Terrebonne Consol. Gvt.

754 So. 2d 1123, 2000 WL 210248
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 18, 2000
Docket99 CA 2271
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 754 So. 2d 1123 (Barriere Const. v. Terrebonne Consol. Gvt.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barriere Const. v. Terrebonne Consol. Gvt., 754 So. 2d 1123, 2000 WL 210248 (La. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

754 So.2d 1123 (2000)

BARRIERE CONSTRUCTION CO., LLC
v.
TERREBONNE PARISH CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENT and Terrebonne Parish Council.

No. 99 CA 2271.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

February 18, 2000.

H. Bruce Shreves, Denise C. Puente, Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, *1124 L.L.P., New Orleans, for Plaintiff-Appellant Barriere Construction Co., LLC.

David J. Norman, III, Allen & Norman, LLC, Houma, for Defendant-Appellee Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government.

Paul J. McMahon, III, Lafayette, for Intervenor-Appellee Huey Stockstill, Inc.

Before: SHORTESS, C.J., PARRO, and KUHN, JJ.

PARRO, J.

Barriere Construction Co., LLC (Barriere) appeals the trial court's judgment denying it injunctive relief in its suit involving a public bid dispute arising out of a public works construction project for the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government (TPCG). We amend and affirm as amended.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Most of the facts in this matter were stipulated by the parties. TPCG and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) were involved in a joint project to improve drainage in the Gibson/Bayou Black area. TPCG advertised for bids in connection with this construction project (the Bayou Black project). The bid opening was scheduled for March 25, 1999, at 2:00 p.m. Two other unrelated bid openings were scheduled for this same date and time. Barriere submitted a timely bid in conformance with all requirements except that the project name and number were not included on the outside of the bid envelope. Because of this irregularity, TPCG did not open the bid. Eventually, the Terrebonne Parish Council (the council) decided to award the contract for the Bayou Black project to Huey Stockstill, Inc. (Stockstill), whose bid in the amount of $1,125,425 was the lower of the two that were opened. This decision was subject to the concurrence of DOTD.

Before DOTD made its decision concerning the contract, Barriere filed this lawsuit against TPCG and the council. Barriere alleged that its bid, still sealed, was in the amount of $1,075,560, making it the low bidder and entitling it to be awarded the contract. Barriere claimed the actions of TPCG in failing to open the bid envelope, returning the envelope to Barriere unopened, rejecting the low bid without "just cause," and failing to award the contract to Barriere, were violations of the Public Bid Law. Barriere sought injunctive relief to maintain the status quo and prevent the award of a contract until its claims could be adjudicated. Barriere also requested a declaratory judgment that it was the lowest responsible bidder and, as such, was entitled to be awarded the contract. Additionally, Barriere asked for an order of mandamus directing TPCG, the council, or any other appropriate entity to open the bid and award the contract to Barriere. In the alternative, should the contract not be awarded to it, Barriere sought damages for its lost profits under the contract. The still-unopened bid envelope was submitted to the court under seal.

The court issued a temporary restraining order and scheduled a hearing on Barriere's request for injunctive relief. Stockstill intervened as a party defendant, alleging it had a property interest in the award of the contract. TPCG filed an answer to Barriere's petition, alleging the council was its legislative branch and not a separate political subdivision, admitting many of the factual allegations concerning the bidding process, but denying that its actions were contrary to law. TPCG sought a dissolution of the temporary restraining order, denial of injunctive relief, and dismissal of Barriere's petition.

During a hearing on April 28, 1999, on the requests for preliminary and permanent injunctions,[1] the court opened the *1125 Barriere bid and, with the agreement of all parties, gave the bid to the project engineer to determine whether it conformed to the bid specifications. The engineer eventually advised the court through counsel that, aside from the omission of the project name and number on the bid envelope, the Barriere bid met all requirements. The complete Barriere bid then became part of the trial court record, along with a joint stipulation of facts, copies of the bid specifications, the Stockstill bid, the bid envelopes from all three bidders on the Bayou Black project, a copy of the standard DOTD bid envelope, several depositions, correspondence between attorneys for the parties, and other documents. After hearing arguments, reviewing the evidence, and considering the statutes and jurisprudence, the court entered judgment in favor of TPCG and against Barriere. In written reasons, the court explained:

The Court ... finds that the Legislature and the jurisprudence has been shifting towards eliminating a public entity's discretion to waive errors of form. The Legislature, in 1987, amended La. R.S. 38:2212(A)(1)(b) to require that the provisions and requirements required on the bid form not be considered as informalities and shall not be waived. The "General Bidding Requirements" on this joint state/parish project stated that "Bids must be prepared and submitted in accordance with Section 102 of the Standard Specifications". Section 102 requires that all the information on the DOTD envelope be filled in to indicate its content. The information includes the contractor's name, licence (sic) number and the name and number of the project addressed. If an envelope other than the one supplied by DOTD is used, it must be similarly marked to indicate its content. Barriere's bid did not meet the requirements because it did not include the name and number of the project on the envelope.
In researching the history of the Public Bid Law, it is clear that the legislature intended to change the discretion previously given to public entitles which allow them to waive irregularities as to form. Therefore, this Court will deny the motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the award of the public construction contract by TPCG to Stockstill. This judgment is binding upon any request for a permanent injunction.

A judgment in favor of TPCG was rendered and signed May 4, 1999. This appeal followed.

APPLICABLE LAW

This case is governed by the provisions of the Louisiana Public Bid Law, Louisiana Revised Statutes 38:2211 through 38:2226. Under its provisions, all public work projects over $100,000 to be done by a public entity must be advertised and awarded by contract to the lowest responsible bidder who bid according to the contract, plans, and specifications as advertised. LSA-R.S. 38:2212 A(1)(a) and A(1)(d). The provisions and requirements of the Public Bid Law, as well as those stated in the advertisement for bids and those required on the bid form, shall not be considered as informalities and shall not be waived by any public entity. LSA-R.S. 38:2212 A(1)(b). No public work may be done except as provided in the Public Bid Law; any contravention of its provisions renders the resulting contract null, void, and of no legal consequence. LSA-R.S. 38:2220; Louisiana Associated General Contractors v. Calcasieu, 586 So.2d 1354, 1362 n. 14 (La.1991); Percy J. Matherne Contractor, Inc. v. Grinnell Fire Protection Systems Co., 915 F.Supp. 818, 821 (M.D.La.1995), affirmed, 102 F.3d 550 (5th Cir.1996).

ANALYSIS

The thrust of Barriere's first two assignments of error is that the trial court erred in allowing TPCG to reject its bid without "just cause," because the error was merely one of form.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
754 So. 2d 1123, 2000 WL 210248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barriere-const-v-terrebonne-consol-gvt-lactapp-2000.