Orange County recently requested bids for its trash collection service. FCC Infrastructure responded with the lowest bid across the board. Now, two other bidders, Waste Pro and Florida Republic, are protesting the award of the contract to FCC. While the details of the case are still forthcoming, this news article contains some details of the issue and statements from each of the bidders.

According to Waste Pro and Florida Republic, FCC was able to get the lowest bid because they did not properly bid the project. According to a Waste Pro representative, FCC’s bid would require it to do with one truck what Waste Pro would need ten trucks to do. In essence, Waste Pro is arguing that, while FCC was the lowest bidder, it was not the lowest responsible bidder.

Public authorities are required to award bids to the “lowest responsible bidder.” Wester v. Belote, 103 Fla. 976, 138 So. 721 (1931). “A responsible, or qualified, bidder is one who has the capability in all respects to fully perform the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability that will assure good faith performance.” Am. Eng’g & Dev. Corp. v. Town of Highland Beach, 20 So. 3d 1000, 1000-01 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2009) internal quotes omitted. Thus, simply submitting the lowest bid is not enough. A bidder must also be qualified to perform the work.

Therefore, a bidder who does not submit the lowest bid can still file a bid protest if the lowest bidder is not a responsible bidder. If you have been denied an award of a public contract due to the lowest bidder not being a responsible bidder, contact the experienced bid protest attorneys here at Smith & Associates for a free consultation. Be aware that bid protest cases have very strict, short deadlines, so you must act quickly to preserve your rights.