Main Building Maintenance, Inc.--Costs, B-260945.6, December

B-260945.6 Dec 15, 1997 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights DIGEST Attorney's fees need not be allocated between sustained and denied protest issues where all of the issues raised by the protester were related to the same core protest allegation which was sustained. Denied issues were not distinct and severable from issue sustained. Successful protester should be reimbursed company costs incurred in pursuing protest to the extent that such costs are sufficiently documented and are reasonable. We agreed with Main that a number of "value added strengths" which the SSA attributed exclusively to DGR's proposal also were present in Main's proposal. We also considered and denied allegations by Main that DGR should not have been given credit in the evaluation and source selection for proposing to respond to service calls in a specified number of days. View Decision Matter of: Main Building Maintenance, Inc.--Costs File: B-260945.6 Date: December 15, 1997 DIGEST Attorneys DECISION Main Building Maintenance, Inc. requests reimbursement in the amount of $26,513.83, as its costs of filing and pursuing its protest, which we sustained in our decision, Main Bldg. Maintenance, Inc., B-260945.4, Sept. 29, 1995, 95-2 CPD para. 214. We recommend that Main be reimbursed $23,570.83. BACKGROUND In a series of protests, Main raised numerous allegations concerning the Department of the Air Force's evaluation of proposals, conduct of discussions, and award of a contract to DGR Associates, Inc. under request for proposals (RFP) No. F08637-94-R-7011, for military family housing maintenance services. We sustained the protest because the written source selection decision indicated that the source selection authority (SSA) awarded the contract to DGR based on a mistaken understanding of the differences between the DGR and Main proposals. In particular, we agreed with Main that a number of "value added strengths" which the SSA attributed exclusively to DGR's proposal also were present in Main's proposal. We also considered and denied allegations by Main that DGR should not have been given credit in the evaluation and source selection for proposing to respond to service calls in a specified number of days; that the evaluators deviated from the evaluation criteria in the RFP by giving DGR credit for needing no phase-in period; that the ratings assigned to its own and DGR's proposal were erroneous; that the agency conducted unequal discussions; and that the agency improperly permitted DGR to amend its proposal. Since we denied these allegations, we stated that there was no need to reopen discussions. Rather, we recommended that the SSA reassess whether DGR's proposal offered the best value to the government. Finally, we recommended that the Air Force should reimburse Main for its reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protest, including reasonable attorney's fees. 4 C.F.R. sec. 21.6(d)(1) (1995). Main initially claimed reimbursement of $24,691.33, including $23,232.67 in attorney's fees and costs, $1,432.91 for the time spent by Main's employees on the protest, and $25.75 for Federal Express charges. Main's claim included a "Statement of Professional Services and Costs" which was prepared by the firm's attorney and which indicated that the attorney had spent 169.50 hours on the protest at a total cost of $22,882.50. That statement also included a detailed breakdown by date of the time spent by the attorney, brief notations of how the time was spent, and a statement that the attorney had incurred $350.17 in costs in pursuit of the protest. The attorney certified that he had performed the listed work on the protest at an hourly rate of $135 and that the work had been billed to the client. Main also submitted a billing statement for its company personnel time, including hourly rates for three employees and the hours worked and total charges for each employee. The claim also included a copy of a Federal Express bill for $25.75. Subsequently, Main amended its claim to include an additional 13.5 hours, at $135 per hour, for a total of $1,822.50, for time spent by its attorney pursuing the claim before this Office. The Air Force has offered to reimburse Main only $1,355.58 for attorney's fees and costs and company personnel costs. The Air Force has challenged most of the costs for the attorney's hours, all of the other costs claimed for Main's attorney, and all of the company's personnel costs claimed by Main.