Alleged Mistake in Bid After Award

A contractor alleged a mistake in bid after award for the construction of shower facilities. The contractor requested reformation of its contract to include a subcontractor's plumbing cost it had failed to take into account. The contracting officer indicated that based on worksheets submitted by the contractor, a bona fide mistake had been made, and felt that the contracting office should have been on constructive notice of a possible mistake because of the 20 percent differential between the contractor's bid and those of other bidders. The test for constructive notice is one of reasonableness; whether there are factors which should have raised the presumption of error in the mind of the contracting officer. The disparity of less than 20 percent between the contractor's bid and the other bids was not sufficient to place the contracting officer on constructive notice of mistake. The acceptance by the contracting agency of the contractor's bid constituted a valid and binding contract and there was no legal basis for granting the relief requested.