[Protest of Navy Selection of Firm for Negotiation of Architect-Engineering Contract]

A firm protested the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's selection of another firm for a negotiated architect-engineering contract, contending that the: (1) awardee had access to certain government information not provided to other bidders; (2) awardee could not provide the required inspection report for forms, since it was not licensed to use the forms; (3) Navy favored the awardee by selecting its work sample as the acceptable standard; and (4) Navy improperly selected the awardee, which had received numerous contracts within a 2-year period. GAO held that the: (1) protester untimely protested more than 10 working days after the Navy denied its request for the disputed information; (2) statement of work did not require use of the protester's proprietary data; (3) Navy's selection of the awardee's sample did not constitute favoritism; and (4) Navy properly selected the highest-rated firm. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed in part and denied in part.