Technical Proposals Improperly Rejected

Protesters to a contract award contended that they were improperly excluded from the second step of a two-step solicitation and that second-step procurement was conducted in a manner prejudicial to them. The technical proposals were improperly rejected since the solicitation specification did not clearly set forth a requirement. However, since the system had been installed, cancellation was impracticable. A claim for bid preparation costs was denied because the ambiguous specification represented negligence rather than arbitrary and capricious action on the part of the agency.