Challenges to Validity of Contract Award

The protesters, a joint venture, challenged the validity of a contract award to another joint venture. Although the case was the subject of a suit in a district court, the protest was considered since the original court decision had been eliminated, the suit was not active, and the protesters had indicated their willingness to have the court action dismissed without prejudice. The low bidder was not precluded from waiving the bid acceptance period after expiration. The low bidder, who sought a correction of a mistake in bid, was not required to apprise the agency prior to a decision on the correction of its willingness to accept award at the original bid price. The low bidder's reservation of the right to contest in an appropriate forum the contracting agency's denial of its request for correction of the bid did not render the award to the low bidder improper. Nothing required the contractor seeking contract reformation to exhaust its remedy in GAO before bringing action in court for relief.