Government Contract Bid Protest - Mississippi

PROTEST OF SOLICITATION / AWARD

State of Mississippi

Before the Public Procurement Review Board / Contracting Agency

CASE CAPTION

BEFORE THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REVIEW BOARD
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

In the Matter of the Protest of:

Protester: [________________________________]

Concerning:

Solicitation/Contract No.: [________________________________]

Issuing Agency: [________________________________]

Protest No. (if assigned): [________________________________]

Date Filed: [__/__/____]

PROTEST, REQUEST FOR STAY OF AWARD, AND CLAIM FOR COSTS

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. Request for Stay of Award/Performance
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 Mississippi Public Purchasing Law, Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-1 et seq., and the rules and regulations of the Public Procurement Review Board ("PPRB"), Title 12, Part 6 of the Mississippi Administrative Code.

2. The PPRB was established (succeeding the former Personal Service Contract Review Board) to provide oversight and review of state procurement actions, including protests of solicitations and awards. Miss. Code Ann. § 27-104-7.

3. The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration ("DFA") oversees central procurement for state agencies. The DFA Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management administers competitive bidding and procurement procedures.

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

5. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13, purchases which involve an expenditure of more than $50,000 shall be made from the lowest and best bidder after advertising for competitive sealed bids. The Protester contends that the Agency violated these mandatory requirements.

II. PARTIES

A. Protester

Legal Name: [________________________________]

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

State of Organization: [________________________________]

Principal Business Address: [________________________________]

City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

Mississippi Secretary of State Registration No.: [________________________________]

Authorized Representative: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]

Email: [________________________________]

B. Contracting Agency

Agency Name: [________________________________]

Procurement Contact: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]

C. Awardee (if known)

Name: [________________________________]

Address: [________________________________]

III. TIMELINESS OF PROTEST

A. Applicable Deadline

This Protest is timely filed in accordance with applicable PPRB regulations and protest procedures.

☐ Pre-award protest filed before the bid opening or within the prescribed period for challenging solicitation terms.

☐ Post-award protest filed within the applicable deadline after the Protester knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the Protest.

B. Triggering Event

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

C. Type of Protest

☐ Pre-award protest
☐ Post-award protest
☐ Other: [________________________________]

IV. STATEMENT OF RELEVANT FACTS

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

2. The procurement was advertised as required by Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(c), which mandates that notice of bids shall be advertised once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the county, with the first publication being not less than seven (7) working days before the bid opening.

3. The Solicitation established the following requirements/evaluation criteria:
   - [________________________________]
   - [________________________________]
   - [________________________________]

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

5. On [__/__/____], bids were opened publicly as required by Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(d).

6. [________________________________] (additional facts)

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

8. [________________________________] (additional relevant facts)

V. GROUNDS OF PROTEST

The Protester asserts the following grounds:

Ground 1: [Title]

☐ Failure to Award to Lowest and Best Bidder: Under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-17, the award shall be made to the "lowest and best bidder." The Agency failed to properly determine which bidder was lowest and best.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Ground 2: [Title]

☐ Evaluation Errors: The Agency's evaluation deviated from the stated criteria or applicable law.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Ground 3: [Title]

☐ Responsiveness/Responsibility Determination Error: The Agency improperly determined the Awardee to be responsive and responsible, or improperly determined the Protester to be non-responsive or non-responsible.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Applicable Authority: Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(d).

Ground 4: [Title]

☐ Specification Deficiency: The specifications were unduly restrictive, ambiguous, or tailored to favor a particular bidder.

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Ground 5: [Title]

☐ Procedural Violations: The Agency failed to follow mandatory procurement procedures (e.g., advertising requirements, bid opening procedures, competitive bidding thresholds).

Factual Basis: [________________________________]

Applicable Authority: Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13.

Additional Grounds:

☐ Improper use of reverse auction under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(r)
☐ Failure to comply with minority business enterprise requirements
☐ Conflict of interest
☐ Improper sole-source or emergency procurement
☐ Other: [________________________________]

VI. LEGAL ARGUMENT

A. Mississippi Procurement Framework

Mississippi procurement is governed by the Public Purchasing Law, Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-1 et seq. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13, purchases exceeding $50,000 require competitive sealed bids. Awards must be made to the "lowest and best bidder," considering not only price but also quality, capacity, promptness, and financial responsibility. Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-17.

The PPRB (which replaced the former PSCRB) has regulatory oversight under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-104-7 and the regulations at Title 12, Part 6 of the Mississippi Administrative Code. Under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(r), reverse auctions are the primary method for receiving bids, unless the purchasing entity determines that a reverse auction is not in the best interest of the State (subject to PPRB approval).

B. "Lowest and Best Bidder" Standard

The term "lowest and best bidder" requires consideration of factors beyond price alone. These include:

1. Quality of the goods or services offered;
2. The bidder's capability, including technical and financial capacity;
3. Past performance and reliability;
4. Conformity with solicitation requirements; and
5. Other factors relevant to the specific procurement.

C. Competitive Prejudice

The Protester was competitively prejudiced because: [________________________________]

D. Detailed Legal Analysis

[________________________________]

VII. REQUEST FOR STAY OF AWARD/PERFORMANCE

The Protester requests that the PPRB or Agency stay the award or performance of the contract pending resolution because:

☐ There is a reasonable likelihood that the Protest will be sustained
☐ The stay will not harm the public interest
☐ The balance of equities favors a stay

Supporting Facts: [________________________________]

VIII. REQUESTED REMEDIES

The Protester respectfully requests:

1. ☐ Sustain the Protest;

2. ☐ Stay the award or performance pending resolution;

3. ☐ Direct corrective action, including:
   - ☐ Re-evaluation of bids
   - ☐ Re-solicitation
   - ☐ Cancellation of the improper award
   - ☐ Award to the Protester as the lowest and best bidder
   - ☐ Other: [________________________________]

4. ☐ Award reasonable costs to the extent authorized;

5. ☐ Refer the matter to the State Auditor for review under Miss. Code Ann. § 7-7-211 (if fraud or waste is alleged);

6. ☐ Other relief as the PPRB or procurement authority deems just and appropriate.

IX. REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

9.1 Accuracy. The Protester certifies that the statements herein are true and correct.

9.2 No Pending Actions. No other action concerning this procurement is pending.

9.3 Standing. The Protester is an actual or prospective bidder with a direct economic interest.

9.4 Compliance. The Protester certifies compliance with all applicable Mississippi procurement ethics requirements.

9.5 Good Faith. This Protest is filed in good faith.

X. EXHIBITS

☐ Exhibit A - Solicitation and Amendments
☐ Exhibit B - Protester's Bid/Proposal (Redacted)
☐ Exhibit C - Bid Tabulation / Award Notification
☐ Exhibit D - Published Bid Advertisement
☐ Exhibit E - Correspondence with Agency
☐ Exhibit F - Declaration of [________________________________]
☐ Exhibit G - [________________________________]

XI. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], a true and correct copy of this Protest was served on:

PPRB / DFA:
Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Method: ☐ Email ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Certified Mail

Agency:
Name: [________________________________]
Method: ☐ Email ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Certified Mail

Awardee (if known):
Name: [________________________________]
Method: ☐ Email ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Certified Mail

___________________________________
[Name]

XII. SIGNATURE BLOCK

PROTESTER:

[________________________________]

By: ___________________________________

Name: [________________________________]

Title: [________________________________]

Date: [__/__/____]

COUNSEL FOR PROTESTER (if represented):

[________________________________]

By: ___________________________________

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

MISSISSIPPI-SPECIFIC PROCEDURAL NOTES

• Mississippi procurement for commodities exceeding $50,000 requires competitive sealed bids under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13.
• The "lowest and best bidder" standard considers quality, capacity, promptness, and financial responsibility in addition to price. Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-17.
• Reverse auctions are the primary bidding method under Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13(r), unless the PPRB approves an alternative.
• The Public Procurement Review Board (PPRB) succeeded the former Personal Service Contract Review Board (PSCRB) for regulatory oversight.
• Personal and professional services contracts are governed by Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-401 et seq. and PPRB regulations at Title 12, Part 6 of the Mississippi Administrative Code.
• The State Auditor has authority to review procurement actions for compliance under Miss. Code Ann. § 7-7-211.
• Judicial review may be available through a direct action in chancery or circuit court for declaratory or injunctive relief, or through an appeal under the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, Miss. Code Ann. § 25-43-1 et seq.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

1. Mississippi Public Purchasing Law, Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-1 et seq.
2. Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-13 - Bid requirements ($50,000 threshold; advertising; reverse auctions)
3. Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-17 - Award to lowest and best bidder
4. Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-401 et seq. - Personal and professional services contracts
5. Miss. Code Ann. § 27-104-7 - Public Procurement Review Board (PPRB)
6. Title 12, Part 6, Mississippi Administrative Code - PPRB Regulations
7. Miss. Code Ann. § 7-7-211 - State Auditor procurement review authority
8. Miss. Code Ann. § 25-43-1 et seq. - Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law
9. DFA Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management procedures

This template is designed for use in the State of Mississippi under the Public Purchasing Law, Miss. Code Ann. § 31-7-1 et seq. Protest procedures and deadlines vary. This template should be customized and reviewed by a qualified Mississippi attorney before filing. Laws and regulations may change; verify all citations before use.