Hydraulics International, Inc. v. United States

United States Court of Federal Claims·Decided November 20, 2025·No. 25-312·Published

Opinion

In the United States Court of Federal Claims No. 25-312 Filed: October 3, 2025 Reissued: November 20, 2025 †

HYDRAULICS INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

Plaintiff,

v.

THE UNITED STATES,

Defendant,

and

SUN TEST SYSTEMS, INC.,

Defendant-Intervenor.

Howard William Roth, III, Smith Currie Oles LLP, Seattle, WA, for Plaintiff.

Kara Westercamp and Reta Emma Bezak, 1 Senior Trial Counsel, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, with Douglas K. Mickle, Acting Deputy Director, Patricia M. McCarthy, Director, and Yaakov M. Roth, Acting Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC, with Major Joseph Van Dusen, U.S. Army, Of Counsel, for Defendant.

David S. Cohen, with John J. O’Brien, Cordatis LLP, Arlington, VA, for Defendant-Intervenor.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Standing is key to establishing jurisdiction. In this pre-award bid protest, Plaintiff, Hydraulics International, Inc. (“HII”), challenges a U.S. Department of the Army Contracting Command (“Army”) proposed sole-source award to Sun Test Systems, Inc. (“Sun Test”), for 202 helicopter Aviation Ground Power Units (“AGPUs”) and ancillary services, parts, training, and refurbishment. (Compl. ¶ 1, ECF No. 1). The facts and procedural history have largely been

† This Opinion was originally issued under seal, (ECF No. 84). The Court provided parties with the opportunity to submit proposed redactions. In a Joint Status Report filed on November 20, 2025, (ECF No. 86), the parties indicated that no redactions were required. 1 Reta Emma Bezak entered her appearance after briefing completed but conducted oral argument for the United States. (ECF No. 77). summarized in this Court’s Order denying HII’s preliminary injunction and in an earlier related matter adjudicated by another judge of this Court. Hydraulics Int’l, Inc. v. United States, 176 Fed. Cl. 191, 194–95 (2025) (Tapp, J.); Hydraulics Int’l, Inc. v. United States, 161 Fed. Cl. 167, 171–74 (2022) (Holte, J.). Based on the parties’ extensive briefing, (ECF Nos. 47, 60, 61, 65, 68), and an oral argument held before the undersigned, (see Oral Argument Transcript (“OA Tr.”), ECF No. 83), the Court finds that because HII could not produce a compliant AGPU at the time the sole source decision was made, it also cannot establish standing. Therefore, the United States’ Motion to Dismiss, (Def.’s Cross-MJAR, ECF No. 61), is GRANTED and HII’s claim is DISMISSED for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. RCFC 12(b)(1). Accordingly, HII’s Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record, (Pl.’s MJAR, ECF No. 47), and Sun Test’s Cross- Motion for Judgment on the Administrative Record, (Def.-Interv.’s Cross-MJAR, ECF No. 60), are DENIED as MOOT.

For jurisdictional purposes of RCFC 12(b)(1), “a court must accept as true all undisputed facts asserted in the plaintiff’s complaint and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff.” Trusted Integration, Inc. v. United States, 659 F.3d 1159, 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (citation omitted). “[P]laintiff[s] bear[] the burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence.” Estes Express Lines v. United States, 739 F.3d 689, 692 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (citation omitted). “Determination of jurisdiction starts with the complaint, which must be well-pleaded in that it must state the necessary elements of the plaintiff’s claim, independent of any defense that may be interposed.” Holley v. United States, 124 F.3d 1462, 1465 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (citations omitted). “If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.” RCFC 12(h)(3); see Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 94 (1998).

To retain jurisdiction, federal courts are confined to resolve “cases” and “controversies” which require a plaintiff to demonstrate standing. U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2; Sprint Commc’ns Co., L.P. v. APCC Servs., Inc., 554 U.S. 269, 273 (2008); see also Dep’t of Com. v. New York, 588 U.S. 752, 766 (2019) (“For a legal dispute to qualify as a genuine case or controversy, at least one plaintiff must have standing to sue.”). A plaintiff bears the burden to prove all elements of standing. FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas, 493 U.S. 215, 231 (1990); Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561 (1992). To do so, a plaintiff must allege facts showing that it: “(1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 338 (2016) (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560–61). “Article III standing requires a concrete injury even in the context of a statutory violation. For that reason, [a plaintiff] could not, for example, allege a bare procedural violation, divorced from any concrete harm, and satisfy the injury-in- fact requirement of Article III.” Spokeo, 578 U.S. at 341. Crucial to this bid protest, the plaintiff must establish “standing as of the time [it] brought th[e] lawsuit and maintain[] it thereafter.” Carney v. Adams, 592 U.S. 53, 59 (2020). The timing of the standing determination is key to the Court’s decision here.

When the Court hears a bid protest, it “appl[ies] the appropriate [Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”)] standard of review” as delineated in 5 U.S.C. § 706. Fla. Power & Light Co. v. Lorion, 470 U.S. 729, 743–44 (1985). “The APA provides standing almost to the limits of Article III, as follows: ‘[a] person . . . adversely affected or aggrieved by agency action within the meaning of a relevant statute, is entitled to judicial review thereof.’” Aero Spray, Inc.

2 v. United States, 156 Fed. Cl. 548, 558 (2021) (quoting 5 U.S.C. § 702). However, the standing inquiry in bid protests is complicated by the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1491(b) (1994), as amended by the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-320, 110 Stat. 3870, defining “not only this Court’s jurisdiction over what actions may be brought against the government, but also who has standing to pursue them.” Aero Spray, 156 Fed. Cl. at 559 (emphasis omitted).

Importantly, under 28 U.S.C. § 1491(b)(1), a protestor must “establish that it (1) is an actual or prospective bidder, and (2) possesses the requisite direct economic interest.” Rex Serv. Corp. v. United States, 448 F.3d 1305, 1307 (Fed. Cir. 2006).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Hydraulics International, Inc. v. United States, (uscfc 2025).

Hydraulics International, Inc. v. United States (Hydraulics International, Inc. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War
418 U.S. 208 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Florida Power & Light Co. v. Lorion
470 U.S. 729 (Supreme Court, 1985)
FW/PBS, Inc. v. City of Dallas
493 U.S. 215 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife
504 U.S. 555 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc.
554 U.S. 269 (Supreme Court, 2008)
Weeks Marine, Inc. v. United States
575 F.3d 1352 (Federal Circuit, 2009)
Rex Service Corp. v. United States
448 F.3d 1305 (Federal Circuit, 2006)
Trusted Integration, Inc. v. United States
659 F.3d 1159 (Federal Circuit, 2011)
John D. Holley v. United States
124 F.3d 1462 (Federal Circuit, 1997)
Orion Technology, Inc. v. United States
704 F.3d 1344 (Federal Circuit, 2013)
Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment
523 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1998)
Estes Express Lines v. United States
739 F.3d 689 (Federal Circuit, 2014)
Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins
578 U.S. 330 (Supreme Court, 2016)
Department of Commerce v. New York
588 U.S. 752 (Supreme Court, 2019)
Oracle America, Inc. v. United States
975 F.3d 1279 (Federal Circuit, 2020)
Carney v. Adams
592 U.S. 53 (Supreme Court, 2020)
WinStar Communications, Inc. v. United States
42 Cont. Cas. Fed. 77,371 (Federal Claims, 1998)
Information Sciences Corp. v. United States
73 Fed. Cl. 70 (Federal Claims, 2006)