String King Lacrosse, LLC (75A50322R00008)

B-420935.12 Aug 16, 2024 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights String King Lacrosse, LLC, a small business of Gardena, California, requests that our Office recommend that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reimburse the firm the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protests with respect to request for proposals (RFP) No. 75A50322R00008. The solicitation sought proposals for disposable medical isolation gowns for use during public national emergencies and pandemic events. We dismissed String King's most recent protest--its second protest with our Office concerning this solicitation--as academic on April 9, 2024, prior to the submission of the agency's report, based upon the agency's notice of corrective action. The requester argues that it should be reimbursed the costs of pursuing both of its protests because, in each instance, the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in the face of a clearly meritorious protest. We deny the request. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of: String King Lacrosse, LLC--Costs File: B-420935.12 Date: August 16, 2024 Eric S. Crusius, Esq., Amy L. Fuentes, Esq., and Richard J. Ariel, Esq., Holland & Knight LLP, for the requester. Anthony E. Marrone, Esq., Megan R. Nathan, Esq., and Robin Ray Coll, Esq., Department of Health and Human Services, for the agency. Michael P. Price, Esq., and John Sorrenti, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Request for reimbursement of protest costs associated with multiple protests is denied where the agency took corrective action prior to the deadline for the agency report in each protest. DECISION String King Lacrosse, LLC, a small business of Gardena, California, requests that our Office recommend that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reimburse the firm the reasonable costs of filing and pursuing its protests with respect to request for proposals (RFP) No. 75A50322R00008. The solicitation sought proposals for disposable medical isolation gowns for use during public national emergencies and pandemic events. We dismissed String King's most recent protest--its second protest with our Office concerning this solicitation--as academic on April 9, 2024, prior to the submission of the agency's report, based upon the agency's notice of corrective action. The requester argues that it should be reimbursed the costs of pursuing both of its protests because, in each instance, the agency unduly delayed taking corrective action in the face of a clearly meritorious protest. We deny the request. BACKGROUND This request primarily concerns two protests filed with our Office by String King, one in October 2023, and the other in February 2024. As background, we explain the solicitation, and provide a summary and procedural history for each of the protests, as well as a discussion of certain procurement activity that occurred in between the protests. The Solicitation HHS issued the solicitation on June 28, 2022, pursuant to the procedures of Federal Acquisition Regulation part 12, seeking proposals for disposable medical isolation gowns for use during public national emergencies and pandemic events. Req. for Costs at 3. The solicitation advised that the agency intended to award a contract on a bestvalue tradeoff basis to “the responsible offeror whose offer demonstrates that it can meet the mandatory criteria and will be most advantageous to the [g]overnment considering both price and other factors,” including technical compliance, technical capability, and similar experience. Prior Protest, B-420935.11, Feb. 26, 2024, exh. A, RFP at 46, 51. As relevant to both protests, under the price evaluation factor, the RFP advised that HHS's “overall best value determination will consider the cost of the product as it relates to the shelf life at time of delivery and the best value determination will also consider the time, effort, and cost to sustain product with lesser shelf life.” Id. at 50. String King submitted its proposal on November 22 and, on September 27, 2023, HHS informed String King that it was not selected for award. Req. for Costs at 4. String King's first protest followed. Id. October 2023 Protest String King's initial protest challenged in multiple respects HHS's award of the contract to New York Embroidery Studio, a women-owned small business of New York, New York, pursuant to this solicitation. The requester alleged that the agency's evaluation of proposals was unreasonable under the technical capability, similar experience, and price evaluation criteria. See String King Lacrosse, LLC, B-420935.2, B-420935.3, Nov. 3, 2023 (unpublished decision) at 1.