On-Point Technology Systems, Inc. v. Commonwealth

803 A.2d 1175, 569 Pa. 236, 2002 Pa. LEXIS 1705
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 20, 2002
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 803 A.2d 1175 (On-Point Technology Systems, Inc. v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
On-Point Technology Systems, Inc. v. Commonwealth, 803 A.2d 1175, 569 Pa. 236, 2002 Pa. LEXIS 1705 (Pa. 2002).

Opinions

OPINION

Chief Justice ZAPPALA.

This is a direct appeal from the order of the Commonwealth Court entering judgment in favor of Appellees, and against Appellant, in an action brought by Appellant seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. For the reasons that follow, we reverse.

In October of 1992, Appellee, the Department of Revenue, issued a request for proposals (RFP) on behalf of the Pennsylvania Lottery for instant ticket vending machines and related services. These types of machines dispense lottery tickets upon the insertion of money by the patron. After receipt of proposals, the Department contracted with Appellant for the purchase of instant ticket vending machines.

In August of 1995, a new RFP issued for the purchase of instant ticket vending machines and related services. Again, Appellant was selected as the winning bidder. In July of 1996, however, the August 1995 RFP was cancelled.

Again, in 1997, the Department issued an RFP for the purchase of instant ticket vending machines and, again, Appellant was the lowest bidder. The Department, however, decided not to procure any instant ticket vending machines as a result of the RFP.

On August 12, 1997, the current RFP issued for an on-line games system and related services. The on-line system consisted of computer hardware and software, communications links, interfaces, retailer and management terminals and the on-line gaming system computer configuration including, but [238]*238not limited to, all modems, queuing, protocol and polling devices.

The August 1997 on-line system RFP also included a section titled “Options.” That section directed proposers for the online games system to submit prices for various other products, including “Player Activated Terminals,” which the Department conceded is a term synonymous with instant ticket vending machines. Reproduced Record at 57a-58a. Proposers were required to submit proposals for the listed “options,” including pricing in the cost proposal. The RFP, however, admonished proposers not to include cost information regarding options in the technical proposal. The RFP provided that “Costs (set forth in the Options Proposals only) and availability will not be used in the evaluation process.” Reproduced Record at 555a (emphasis added).

The Department received various proposals in response to the August 1997 RFP for an on-line games system. After evaluating those proposals, the Department selected the proposal submitted by Automated Wagering, Inc., as the most responsive to the Commonwealth’s needs. Consistent with the statement in the RFP, the price of “options” played no part in evaluating the proposals or the selection of Automated Wagering.

In February 1998, the Department entered into a contract with Automated Wagering for “the design and production of lottery games systems.” Reproduced Record at 363a. The contract did not contain any terms, e.g., price, quantity, etc., for any option. Rather, the contract stated that if the Department chose to exercise an “option,” the price and terms would be “mutually agreed upon by the parties.” Reproduced Record at 599a. The agreement was to run for a term of five years and could be extended by additional one-year periods to a term of ten years.

Following the execution of the foregoing contract, the Commonwealth Procurement Code was enacted on May 15, 1998, to be effective in 180 days. Prior to the Code’s effective date, a first amendment to the contract between the Department [239]*239and Automated Wagering was executed extending the contract term to December 31, 2001.

On December 16, 1999, after the effective date of the Code, the Department and Automated Wagering executed a second amendment to the February 1998 contract. The second amendment called for Automated Wagering to “furnish” 2,400 instant ticket vending machines to the Department at a cost of $225 per month, per machine.

In connection with entering into the second amendment, the Department did not issue an RFP or an invitation for competitive bids for instant ticket vending machines. Pursuant to the second amendment, the instant ticket vending machines were not linked to the on-line system, but the option to link them in the future remained.

Appellant attempted to negotiate with Automated Wagering to supply the machines pursuant to the second agreement, but in January of 2000, Appellant saw a press release from Interlott Technologies stating that it had received an order from Automated Wagering to provide the 2,400 instant ticket vending machines.

Appellant instituted this action on March 16, 2000, in its capacity as a Pennsylvania taxpayer. Appellant filed the action in the Commonwealth Court, seeking a declaration that the second amendment to the February 1998 contract on December 16, 1998, was an entirely new contract subject to the Commonwealth Procurement Code. Moreover, Appellant sought a declaration that the “new” contract entered into between the Department and Automated Wagering was illegal since an RFP did not issue regarding instant ticket vending machines, the subject of the contract. In the alternative, Appellant sought relief claiming that even if the amendment was held not subject to the Procurement Code, that it violated the common law rule that once a competitive procurement process is used, it must be used properly. By reason of the alleged statutory (or common law) defects, Appellant contended that the court should declare the amendment illegal, or order rescission and permanently enjoin its performance.

[240]*240The lower court rejected Appellant’s argument and held that the second amendment was not a new contract subject to the Procurement Code requirement that a competitive bidding process must be utilized. The court based its decision upon the fact that the original proposals submitted to the Department contemplated that an extension of the work thereunder, by way of future supplemental contracts, could be entered between the Department and the selected proposer. Thus, the court held that all persons participating in the original bidding process were put on notice that such supplemental contracts could be formulated in this regard.

Based upon this same reasoning, the court rejected Appellant’s second argument that the Department violated the common law rule regarding competitive bidding since the court found that no competitive bid for supplemental work originally contemplated by the proposal was necessary.

Appellant now asserts that the lower court erred when it concluded as a matter of law that the Department of Revenue did not violate Pennsylvania procurement laws by acquiring instant ticket vending machines for the Pennsylvania Lottery without using the competitive bidding or competitive proposal process. We agree.1

The Procurement Code applies to “every expenditure of funds, other than the investment of funds, by Commonwealth agencies under any contract....” 62 Pa.C.S. § 102(a). The term “contract” is defined as a “type of written agreement, regardless of what it may be called, for the procurement or disposal of supplies, services or construction.” 62 Pa.C.S. § 103. “Procurement” means “buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, licensing or otherwise acquiring any supplies, services or construction,” while the term “supplies” includes equipment, materials, and tangible personal property. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
803 A.2d 1175, 569 Pa. 236, 2002 Pa. LEXIS 1705, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/on-point-technology-systems-inc-v-commonwealth-pa-2002.