Request for Reconsideration

A company requested reconsideration of a decision which denied its claim for a contract reformation. The company's bid price had been based upon a misunderstanding concerning the thickness of the concrete pipe it was to supply under the contract; nevertheless, the company performed the contract according to its terms. In its request for reconsideration, the company stated that its bid price should have been compared to the Government's estimate for the work. Where a unilateral mistake in a bid is alleged after the award of a contract, GAO will grant relief only where the record indicates that the contracting officer was on actual or constructive notice of the error prior to the award and that he failed to take the proper steps to verify the bid. The record indicated that the company's total bid price was 14.3 percent below the Government's estimate and that its bid on one part of the contract was substantially below the Government estimate for that work. Although the contracting officer requested the company to perform an on-the-spot verification of its bid price, he did not indicate to the company that its bid was substantially below the Government estimate for the work. Consequently, GAO concluded that the Government had constructive knowledge of a mistake and that the contracting officer did not adequately discharge his verification duty. Accordingly, GAO held that the prior decision should be modified to allow payment to the company on a quantum valebant or quantum meruit basis for the reasonable value of services and materials furnished.