Protest Against Award of Sole-Source Contract

A company protested award of a sole-source contract and then filed a suit in the U.S. District Court on the same issues. Although GAO does not usually consider protests which are before a court of competent jurisdiction, the protest was considered on its merits. Since the agency and the previous sole-source supplier had reached an impasse on terms of a new contract, the agency was justified in negotiating a new sole-source contract.