Government Contract Bid Protest - Colorado

PROTEST OF SOLICITATION / AWARD

State of Colorado

Before the State Purchasing Director / Designated Procurement Official

CASE CAPTION

BEFORE THE STATE PURCHASING DIRECTOR
STATE OF COLORADO
DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION

In the Matter of the Protest of:

Protester: [________________________________]

Concerning:

Solicitation/Contract No.: [________________________________]

Issuing Agency: [________________________________]

Protest No. (if assigned): [________________________________]

Date Filed: [__/__/____]

PROTEST AND REQUEST FOR RELIEF AUTHORIZED BY C.R.S. §§ 24-109-501 TO -505

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction and Jurisdictional Statement
2. Parties
3. Timeliness of Protest
4. Statement of Relevant Facts
5. Grounds of Protest
6. Legal Argument
7. Procurement Status and RFP Award Hold
8. Requested Remedies
9. Representations and Certifications
10. Exhibits
11. Certificate of Service
12. Signature Block

I. INTRODUCTION AND JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT

1. This Protest is filed pursuant to the Colorado Procurement Code, C.R.S. § 24-109-102, and the Colorado Procurement Rules, 1 CCR 101-9, Rule R-24-109-102 ("Protest Rule").

2. Under C.R.S. § 24-109-102(1), any aggrieved party may protest the solicitation or award of a contract at any phase of the solicitation or award process concerning any material issue. The protest must be submitted in writing to the procurement official who is the decision-making authority for the procurement.

3. The State Purchasing Director (or designated procurement official) has jurisdiction over this Protest pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-109-102 and the applicable procurement rules.

4. This Protest concerns Solicitation/Contract No. [________________________________] (the "Solicitation"), issued by [________________________________] (the "Agency") for [________________________________] (brief description of procurement).

II. PARTIES

A. Protester

Legal Name: [________________________________]

Entity Type: ☐ Corporation ☐ LLC ☐ Partnership ☐ Sole Proprietorship ☐ Other: [____]

State of Organization: [________________________________]

Principal Business Address: [________________________________]

City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

Authorized Representative: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

B. Contracting Agency

Agency Name: [________________________________]

Procurement Official: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

C. Awardee (if known)

Name: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

III. TIMELINESS OF PROTEST

A. Applicable Deadline

Under C.R.S. § 24-109-102(1), this Protest is timely because:

☐ Standard solicitations (IFBs/RFPs): This Protest is filed within ten (10) business days after the Protester knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the Protest.

☐ Small purchase solicitations: This Protest is filed within three (3) business days after the Protester knew or should have known of the facts (unless the procurement official has extended the deadline to ten business days).

B. Triggering Event

The Protester first knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to this Protest on [__/__/____], when: [________________________________]

This Protest is filed on [__/__/____], which is within the applicable deadline.

C. Type of Protest

☐ Pre-award protest (challenging solicitation terms, specifications, or evaluation criteria)
☐ Post-award protest (challenging the award decision)
☐ Other: [________________________________]

IV. STATEMENT OF RELEVANT FACTS

Set forth a concise chronological narrative of the procurement:

1. On [__/__/____], the Agency issued the Solicitation for [________________________________].

2. The Solicitation established the following evaluation criteria and weights:
   - [________________________________] - [____]%
   - [________________________________] - [____]%
   - [________________________________] - [____]%
   - Price/Cost - [____]%

3. On [__/__/____], the Protester timely submitted its proposal/bid.

4. [________________________________] (additional facts regarding procurement process)

5. On [__/__/____], the Agency [announced its intent to award / awarded] the contract to [________________________________] (the "Awardee").

6. On [__/__/____], the Protester [received a debriefing / was notified of the award / learned of the facts giving rise to this protest].

7. [________________________________] (additional relevant facts)

8. [________________________________] (additional relevant facts)

V. GROUNDS OF PROTEST

The Protester asserts the following grounds, each constituting an independent basis for sustaining this Protest:

Ground 1: [Title]

☐ Evaluation Errors: The Agency's evaluation deviated from the stated evaluation criteria and/or the Colorado Procurement Code.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Applicable Authority: C.R.S. § 24-103-203 (competitive sealed proposals); 1 CCR 101-9, Rule R-24-103-203.

Ground 2: [Title]

☐ Unequal Treatment of Offerors: The Agency afforded disparate treatment to the Awardee and the Protester during the evaluation, discussions, or negotiations.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Applicable Authority: C.R.S. § 24-103-203(5) (discussions with responsible offerors).

Ground 3: [Title]

☐ Irrational Best-Value Determination: The Agency failed to perform a rational best-value analysis consistent with the Solicitation and applicable law.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Applicable Authority: C.R.S. § 24-103-203(6).

Ground 4: [Title]

☐ Organizational Conflict of Interest: The Awardee had an impermissible organizational conflict of interest that was not disclosed or mitigated.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Ground 5: [Title]

☐ Specification Deficiency: The Solicitation contained unduly restrictive or ambiguous specifications.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Applicable Authority: C.R.S. § 24-103-401 (specifications).

Additional Grounds:

☐ Violation of mandatory procurement procedures
☐ Failure to follow the terms of the Solicitation
☐ Improper sole-source justification
☐ Responsiveness or responsibility determination error
☐ Other: [________________________________]

VI. LEGAL ARGUMENT

A. Standard of Review

Under C.R.S. § 24-109-102(2), the procurement official or designee reviews the material issues raised in the Protest, must identify the factors considered, and must render a written decision within ten (10) business days after filing. Any remedy is limited to C.R.S. §§ 24-109-501 to -505.

B. Materiality and Effect

The identified violation is material to the Solicitation or award and is not merely an administrative or clerical defect that the Agency can correct. See C.R.S. § 24-109-501. The violation affected the Protester as follows: [________________________________]

☐ If costs are requested, the Protester contends that it should have been awarded the contract but was not, because: [________________________________]

C. Applicable Legal Authorities

[________________________________]
(Set forth detailed legal argument citing specific provisions of the Colorado Procurement Code, procurement rules, and any relevant decisional authority.)

VII. PROCUREMENT STATUS AND RFP AWARD HOLD

A. Statutory Basis

☐ RFP protest before award: Under C.R.S. § 24-109-103, a contract resulting from a request for proposals may not be awarded until a protest made in connection with the RFP is resolved under C.R.S. § 24-109-102(2). The Protester asks the procurement official to confirm that no award will occur before resolution.

☐ Other procurement or post-award protest: C.R.S. § 24-109-102 contains no general stay provision. The Protester seeks only the remedies expressly authorized by C.R.S. §§ 24-109-501 to -505.

☐ Later appeal involving an RFP contract of at least $1.5 million: C.R.S. § 24-109-201(2) separately delays award during an appeal under Part 2 unless the executive director or designee overrides that delay in the State's best interest. This checkbox does not itself initiate an appeal.

Procurement status and supporting facts: [________________________________]

VIII. REQUESTED REMEDIES

Pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-109-501 et seq., the Protester respectfully requests:

1. ☐ Sustain the Protest and find that the Agency violated the Colorado Procurement Code;

2. ☐ Apply the RFP award hold in C.R.S. § 24-109-103, if applicable;

3. ☐ Before award: cancel or revise the solicitation or proposed award to comply with the Code, as C.R.S. § 24-109-502 requires after a pre-award violation determination;

4. ☐ After award: cancel or terminate the solicitation or award, direct a modification that eliminates the violation, or make the statutory ratification referral described in C.R.S. § 24-109-503;

5. ☐ Award qualifying solicitation costs only if the statutory conditions are met: If the Protest is sustained and the Protester should have been awarded the contract but was not, award reasonable costs incurred in connection with the Solicitation, including bid-preparation costs, under C.R.S. § 24-109-505. Attorney fees and all other costs are excluded.

The Protester does not request an award directly to itself or other relief outside Part 5 because C.R.S. § 24-109-501 makes those remedies exclusive and prohibits relief not expressly provided there.

IX. REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

9.1 Accuracy. The Protester certifies that the statements of fact set forth herein are true and correct to the best of its knowledge.

9.2 No Pending Actions. Other than this Protest, the Protester represents that no action concerning the subject matter hereof is currently pending before any court or administrative body.

9.3 Protective Order Compliance. The Protester's undersigned representative is prepared to comply with any protective order or confidentiality restrictions issued in connection with this Protest.

9.4 Aggrieved-Party Basis. The Protester is an aggrieved party in connection with the Solicitation or award within C.R.S. § 24-109-102(1) because: [________________________________]

9.5 Good Faith. This Protest is filed in good faith and not for purposes of delay or harassment.

X. EXHIBITS

The following exhibits are attached in support of this Protest:

☐ Exhibit A - Solicitation and Amendments
☐ Exhibit B - Protester's Proposal/Bid (Redacted as appropriate)
☐ Exhibit C - Award Notification / Intent to Award
☐ Exhibit D - Debriefing Materials (if received)
☐ Exhibit E - Correspondence with the Agency
☐ Exhibit F - Declaration of [________________________________]
☐ Exhibit G - [________________________________]
☐ Exhibit H - [________________________________]

XI. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], a true and correct copy of this Protest, together with all attached exhibits, was served on the following parties by the method indicated:

Procurement Official:
Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Method: ☐ Email ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Certified Mail ☐ Other: [____]

Agency Counsel (if known):
Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Method: ☐ Email ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Certified Mail ☐ Other: [____]

Awardee / Awardee's Counsel (if known):
Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Method: ☐ Email ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Certified Mail ☐ Other: [____]

___________________________________
[Name of Person Serving]

XII. SIGNATURE BLOCK

PROTESTER:

[________________________________]
(Protester Legal Name)

By: ___________________________________

Name: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

COUNSEL FOR PROTESTER (if represented):

[________________________________]
(Law Firm Name)

By: ___________________________________

[________________________________], Esq.
Colorado Bar No. [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

1. Colorado Procurement Code, C.R.S. § 24-101-101 et seq.
2. C.R.S. § 24-103-203 - Competitive sealed proposals
3. C.R.S. § 24-103-401 - Specifications
4. C.R.S. § 24-109-101 - Resolution of controversies
5. C.R.S. § 24-109-101.5 - Prelitigation resolution of controversies
6. C.R.S. § 24-109-102 - Protested solicitations and awards (10 business days for standard; 3 for small purchase; 10-day decision)
7. C.R.S. § 24-109-103 - RFP contract not awarded until protest resolution
8. C.R.S. § 24-109-201 - Appeal to executive director and qualifying RFP award hold
9. C.R.S. §§ 24-109-501 to -505 - Exclusive remedies and limited solicitation costs
10. 1 CCR 101-9 - Colorado Procurement Rules
11. Rule R-24-109-102 - Protest procedures

This template is designed for use in the State of Colorado under the Colorado Procurement Code, C.R.S. § 24-101-101 et seq. Filing deadlines are strictly enforced. This template should be customized to the specific facts of each procurement and reviewed by a qualified Colorado attorney before filing. Laws and regulations may change; verify all citations before use.