We proved to the SBA that our client was responsible, contrary to the Navy’s assertion.
Although our client was the low bidder (and the competitor’s price was nearly double), the Navy did not award our client the contract for live-fire firefighting and damage control training. Instead, the contracting officer determined that our client was not responsible and referred the determination of non-responsibility to the SBA pursuant to the Certificate of Competency program.
The Navy’s determination of non-responsibility was based entirely on the default termination of the predecessor contract on which our client served as a subcontractor. The owner of the prime contractor had stopped paying our client for its products and services, forcing our client to stop performing and the Navy to terminate the contract for default. We helped our client prepare the voluminous documentation requested by the SBA (including Forms 355 and 1531) and responded to the contracting officer’s erroneous determination, arguing that it was improper to attribute the default termination to our client and demonstrating our client’s ability to perform the new contract. The SBA agreed with our argument and issued a Certificate of Competency requiring the Navy to award the contract to our client.
