California Industrial Facilities Resources, Inc. v. United States

104 Fed. Cl. 589, 2012 WL 1605116
United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided May 7, 2012·No. No. 12-148C·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SWEENEY, Judge.

In this preaward bid protest, plaintiff challenges a request for quotations (“RFQ”), and the proposed award of a delivery order arising from the RFQ, as exceeding the scope of the underlying indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts. The parties have filed cross-motions for judgment on the administrative record. For the reasons set forth below, the court denies plaintiffs motion and grants defendant’s and defendant-intervenor’s motions.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Special Operational Equipment Tailored Vendor Logistics Support Program

Plaintiff is a manufacturer of shelter systems located in Monroe, Washington.1 AR 804. Its protest concerns the scope of four contracts issued by the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (“DSCP”), part of the Defense Logistics Agency (“DLA”).2 The DSCP’s primary mission is to support the country’s warfighters by providing them with the supplies and services they need, when and where they need them. Id. at 350. To further its mission, the DSCP established what is now called the Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support Program. Id. at 45.

In August 2005, the DSCP awarded three contracts under the second generation of the program. Id. at 7, 45. Two years later, the DSCP determined that the program should be continued with “logistical enhancements and improvements” to, among other things, “provide support as the military services stand-up new organizations and support for changing operational missions.” Id. at 5-6; accord id. at 45. Thus, in late 2007, it began to develop a plan for a follow-on acquisition. Id. at 1-4. In its acquisition plan, the DSCP indicated that its intent was to “supply customers and missions related to Special and Conventional Warfare” with special operational equipment identified on a Core List and spread among twenty-three categories. Id. at 5-6, 8. It anticipated that its customers for the follow-on acquisition would include the military services, the United States Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and state and local governments. Id. at 5. And, it contemplated that the missions would include those in the following areas: “Tactical and Survival, Homeland Security, Mobile Security, Coastal Warfare, Port Security, Aircrew Life Support, Flight Deck Applications, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Diving [591] and Salvage, Underwater Construction, Search and Rescue, Safety, Ships Husbandry, Hyperbaric, Enclosed Space Diving and Lifesaving.” Id.

The DSCP publicly announced its intent to issue a solicitation for the follow-on acquisition on December 12, 2007. Id. at 27. Consistent with the acquisition plan, it indicated that it sought vendors “for the Special Operational Equipment supplies ... contracts” to supply the military services, federal agencies, and state and local governments. Id. at 28. In particular, the DSCP noted that the solicitation would “encompass a wide spectrum of special operational equipment,” which could “be categorized in product classes and missions covering diving, hyperbarics, lifesaving, search and rescue, tactical, personal protection, flight and deck crew safety, maritime interdiction, homeland defense, and the global war on terrorism.” Id.

The DSCP issued solicitation SPM8EJ-08-R-0051 on April 30, 2008, for the follow-on acquisition. Id. at 34. Several sections in the solicitation addressed the scope of the work offerors would be expected to perform. In the Notice to Offerors section, the DSCP indicated that the Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support Program would be used to provide its customers with “a full line of logistic support of special operational equipment_” Id. at 45; accord id. at 44 (“Proposals are being solicited for Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support Program contracts for logistical support-”). In that same section, the DSCP’s customers were repeatedly identified as including the military services, the United States Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and state and local governments. Id. at 44-45. And, in the sections of the solicitation describing the proposal requirements and evaluation factors, the DSCP indicated that offerors would be evaluated on their stated experience “in support of military and federal missions relating to diving operations, lifesaving/search and rescue operations, hyperbaric support, flight deck safety, maritime interdiction, tactical operations and homeland defense.” Id. at 119,132.

The solicitation’s Statement of Work further reflected the DSCP’s focus on the needs of its customers and their missions. In that section, the DSCP provided that the scope of work of the Special Operational Equipment Tailored Logistics Support Program involved “the total logistics support required to supply customers and missions” with special operational equipment included on a Core List and in twenty-three categories, including Survival Gear, Tactical Equipment Protective, Air Crew Support and Flight Deck Safety Items, and Survival Kits. Id. at 78-79. In addition, it indicated that the “primary concept” of the awarded contracts was “to support America’s special operations community by providing all equipment ... necessary to perform their missions.” Id. at 78. Moreover, it identified the customers who would obtain the special operational equipment as including the military services, the United States Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and state and local governments. Id. at 79, 81. Finally, the DSCP provided an example of the type of delivery order it anticipated under the contracts: an order from an aircraft carrier for 2,500 vests. Id. at 86; see also id. at 152.5-.6 (containing a number of entries on the Core List for vests of various colors— both unadorned and with bladders, inflators, whistles, lights, and CO2 cylinders).

The DSCP informed prospective offerors in the solicitation that it intended to award multiple indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts. Id. at 44, 56, 78-79. Indeed, on January 9, 2009, it awarded contracts to defendant-intervenor and three other companies (“vendors”).3 Id. at 227, 258, 287, 318. All four contracts expressly incorporated the clauses and provisions of the solicitation described above. Id. at 229, 260, 289, 320.

On February 9, 2009, one month after awarding the contracts, the DSCP prepared a memorandum in support of its decision to include tents, shelters, and related accessories within the scope of the contracts. Id. at 346-47. Specifically, it concluded:

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California Industrial Facilities Resources, Inc. v. United States, 104 Fed. Cl. 589, 2012 WL 1605116 (uscfc 2012).

104 Fed. Cl. 589 (California Industrial Facilities Resources, Inc. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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