Certified Construction, Inc. v. Crawford

Certified Construction, Inc. (CCI) submitted a bid proposal on a public works project by the County of Hawaii. The County disqualified CCI’s bid on the basis that the project required a C-44 license. CCI filed a bid protest with the County, arguing that nothing in the bid solicitation strictly required a C-44 license. The Office of Administrative Hearings dismissed the protest as untimely, concluding that CCI’s protest was a challenge to the contents of the bid solicitation rather than to the disqualification of its bid proposal. The circuit court disagreed and remanded the case for further proceedings. On remand, the hearings officer determined that CCI failed to demonstrate entitlement to relief. The circuit court affirmed. CCI appealed from the circuit court’s second order, and the County appealed from the circuit court’s first order. The Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) concluded that CCI’s protest was untimely and that the OAH lacked jurisdiction to consider CCI’s protest. The Supreme Court vacated the ICA’s judgment on appeal, holding that the ICA erred in concluding that CCI’s bid protest challenged the contents of the County’s bid solicitation because the protest, in fact, challenged the County’s disqualification of CCI’s bid proposal. View "Certified Construction, Inc. v. Crawford" on Justia Law